Effect of Calcium Chloride, Oil Coating, and Wrapping Materials on Quality and Shelf Life of Apple (Malus × domestica Borkh.)

Aimal Shabir; Rahmat Gul Hassanzai; Mohammadullah Amin

doi:10.62810/jnsr.v4i2.484

Authors

Aimal Shabir Kabul University, Horticulture Department, Agriculture Faculty, Kabul, Afghanistan
Rahmat Gul Hassanzai Kabul University, Horticulture Department, Agriculture Faculty, Kabul, Afghanistan https://orcid.org/0009-0008-4819-7566
Mohammadullah Amin Kabul University, Horticulture Department, Agriculture Faculty, Kabul, Afghanistan https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9377-1233

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62810/jnsr.v4i2.484

Keywords:

Apple, CaCl2, Oil coating, Quality, Shelf life, Wrapping materials

Abstract

Apple is a strategic fruit crop in Afghanistan, produced in large quantities annually; however, postharvest losses during storage remain a major challenge both nationally and globally. This study aimed to evaluate effective and economically feasible coating treatments to maintain apple fruit quality during storage. The experiment was conducted in 2025 at the Horticulture Laboratory, Faculty of Agriculture, Kabul University, Afghanistan, to assess the effects of various coatings, wrapping materials, and CaCl2 on the shelf life of apple (cv. Golden Delicious). Seven treatments (control, aloe vera gel coating, polyethylene packaging, newspaper packaging, Cacl2 1.5%, Cacl2 3%, and sunflower oil coating) were arranged in a factorial CRD design with four replications. Key physicochemical and quality parameters, including TSS, reducing and total sugars, titratable acidity, firmness, weight loss, decay loss, and physiological loss weight (PLW), were measured over a 45-day storage period. Results indicated that both coating type and storage duration significantly influenced fruit quality. Sunflower oil coating (T7) demonstrated superior performance by maintaining biochemical stability and minimizing weight loss (416.34), PLW (48.08) and decay (416.34), followed by aloe vera gel (T2), which also preserved chemical properties and reduced losses. Conversely, polyethylene packaging (T3) and 3% CaCl2 (T6) showed the highest deterioration in quality attributes. Overall, edible coatings effectively reduced respiration, moisture loss, and metabolic activity, thereby extending shelf life. Based on these findings, sunflower oil and aloe vera gel are recommended as cost-effective postharvest treatments. Further research is suggested to evaluate their effectiveness on freshly harvested fruits of other apple cultivars under different storage conditions.

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