Harvest maturity affects postharvest quality of lime fruits (Citrus aurantifolia Swingle)

Postharvest storage of lime fruits, harvested at 119, 133, 147 and 161 days after fruit set (DAFS) was evaluated based on changes in physiological weight loss (PWL), peel lightness (L*), hue (hº), Chroma (C*) values and overall visual quality rating (VQR) along with juice pH, titratable acidity (TA) and total soluble solids (TSS) under ambient condition (30-34 °C, 70-75% RH). The results showed that stage of maturity had significant effect on changes in PWL, VQR, L* and hº values with no significant effect on juice quality parameters during the storage. The maximum storage life of nine days was observed in fruits harvested at 133 DAFS with significantly higher VQR (3.71±0.18) and hº (116.44±2.18). Both colour and PWL % influenced the visual quality of fruits. Thus, lime fruits harvested at 133 DAFS had the longest shelf life of 9 days while stages of 119, 147 and 161 DAFS had shelf life of 6, 7 and 3 days, respectively under ambient storage. This study concludes that the most suitable time for harvesting lime fruits is 133 days after fruit set.