Increasing the shelf-life and quality of matured scotch bonnet (Ata rodo) and tomato using chitosan coating

Loss in quantity and quality of several perishable crops occur between harvest and handling process to the final consumer. In tomatoes and scotch bonnet, the quality loss occurs majorly due to over-ripening, mechanical damage, fungal infection and decay. Extending the shelf life and storability of these perishable crops has been of major concern to researchers. Hence, this study was carried out to determine the protective effect of chitosan coating on post-harvest qualities of matured scotch bonnet and tomato. Freshly harvested scotch bonnets and tomatoes from a field plot at Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Ibadan were sorted on the basis of color, size and absence of external injuries. The selected crops were randomly divided into two groups (group with chitosan and without chitosan). Chitosan synthesized from Chemistry Department in Nigerian Stored Products Research Institute, Ibadan was used to coat the scotch bonnets and tomatoes crops in group 1 while group 2 served as the control. The coated scotch bonnets and tomatoes where kept at room temperature and monitored on daily basis for seven days for scotch bonnet and twenty days for tomato. Chitosan coating markedly reduced the weight loss, fungal infection, shrinking and decay, improving the firmness and titratable acidity in group coated with chitosan. It can be concluded that chitosan coating delays senescence and fungal infection in scotch bonnet and tomato most likely due to its ability to alleviate water stress and its anti-fungal activities.