Shelf-life Assessment of Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) Treated with Different Rates of Chitosan as Edible Coating

Abstract

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most important vegetable crops worldwide; however, its highly perishable nature results in considerable postharvest losses, particularly under ambient storage conditions. This study evaluated the effectiveness of different concentrations of chitosan as an edible coating in maintaining the postharvest quality and extending the shelf life of tomato fruits. The experiment was conducted using a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) consisting of five treatments: control (distilled water), 5 g/L, 10 g/L, 15 g/L, and 20 g/L chitosan, with four replications per treatment. Tomato fruits were evaluated based on physical quality parameters, including weight loss, visual quality rating, color development, shriveling, disease incidence, and hardness, as well as physicochemical characteristics such as total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), pH, and Vitamin C content. Results revealed that chitosan application contributed to the maintenance of visual quality and delayed color development, particularly at higher concentrations of 15–20 g/L. Among the treatments, 15 g/L chitosan significantly improved fruit hardness, indicating better firmness retention during storage. Meanwhile, 20 g/L chitosan recorded the highest titratable acidity, while 10 g/L chitosan provided the greatest retention of Vitamin C content. However, no significant differences were observed among treatments in terms of weight loss, shriveling, disease incidence, TSS, and pH. These findings demonstrate that chitosan coating has potential as a natural and biodegradable postharvest technology for improving tomato quality by delaying ripening, maintaining firmness, and preserving nutritional attributes. Among the tested concentrations, 15 g/L chitosan was identified as the most balanced treatment for maintaining tomato quality under room temperature storage conditions.