Effect of Vegetable Rapeseed and Olive Oil-Based Waxes on the Post-Harvest Preservation of Mangoes in Côte d'Ivoire

Abstract

Côte d'Ivoire is the third largest supplier of mangoes to the European Union. However, its export to the European market is prone to significant losses due to its perishable nature. This problem prompted this study, which aims to improve the quality of mangoes exported to cold rooms by coating them with wax based on vegetable oils. For this purpose, Kent variety mangoes were coated with different doses of wax based on vegetable oils: Rapeseed + Olive 100g/l and Scholar Max 230 SC as a reference product. The treatments evaluated during this study are treatment T0: Untreated control, treatment T1: Scholar Max 230 SC at 0.15%, treatment T2: wax based on vegetable oils at 10%, T3 treatment: wax based on vegetable oils at 15%, T4 treatment: wax based on vegetable oils at 5% and T5 treatment: Combination of the wax based on vegetable oils at 10% and Scholar Max 230 SC, at 0.15%. The treated fruits were stored at 8°C for 15 days in a cold room to mimic export conditions. The evaluations were extended to 6 days after the fruits were removed from the cold room. The results revealed that weight loss and color of fruits were uniform for all treatments. While the loss of firmness was significantly low (8,29%) with the fruit coated with wax based on vegetable oils at 5%. The soluble sugar content, pH and titratable acidity were statistically identical to those of the uncoated fruits. It appears that the coating at wax based on vegetable oils at 5% before cold storage also makes it possible to maintain the quality of the fruit by reducing the impact of anthracnose and inducing lower browning rate.