Abstract

Tomato being a climacteric fruit, postharvest life is relatively short along with loss of quality and storability, including high respiration rates, transpiration, postharvest diseases and acceleration in ripening process and senescence. Therefore, a postharvest experiment was conducted to maximize the shelf life of tomato using different Aloe vera gel coated solution in department of Horticulture, Kalasalingam School of Agriculture and Horticulture. In this experiment the treatment consisted of Aloe vera gel forming concentration 5, 10, 15 and 20% along with control (distilled water). The results of this experiment revealed that the minimum weight loss, decay index, TSS, physiological disorder and maximum firmness, shelf life was recorded in T3 (tomato treated with Aloe vera gel @ 15%), when compared to control. T3 (tomato treated with Aloe vera gel @ 15%) solution was found best to extend the shelf life of tomato.