ReviewApplication of physical and chemical postharvest treatments to enhance storage and shelf life of pomegranate fruit-A review

•Various postharvest physical and chemical treatments of pomegranate is presented.•Effects of postharvest treatments on quality attributes are reviewed.•Natural compounds as alternatives to fungicides are identified.

There has been recent interest in pomegranate fruit production and research due to its high nutritional and health benefits. The increase in demand of the fruit necessitates the need to improve quality, storability and shelf life to meet consumers' expectations of consistent supply of quality fruit. However, pomegranate fruit is susceptible to various postharvest quality problems including high weight loss, decay and susceptibility to physiological disorders such as chilling injury and husk scald. To improve fruit storability and shelf life, physical and chemical postharvest treatments have been applied. However, these treatments have varied effects on the external and internal quality attributes of fruit. This review therefore discusses the different postharvest treatments applied to enhance storage of pomegranate whole fruit and arils and highlights the effects of the treatments on the fruit quality.