Authors Marpudi, S. L., Pushkala, R., & Srividya, N.
Ficus carica, the fig fruit, is one of the most ancient fruits known to mankind. Fresh figs are delicious and nutritious, rich in protein, calcium, potassium, and iron. It is also a good source of fruit fibre has a nutritive index of 11, as against 9 for apple and 6 for raisin. Figs can be held only for a short period (7-10 days), at 0″C and 85-90 % relative humidity. There is a growing interest to consume fresh figs in many countries. Also, farmers and sellers incur a high post-harvest loss of fresh fig fruits due to its perishable nature. Fresh figs skin color and flesh firmness are related to their quality and postharvest life. Flavor is influenced by stage of ripeness and overripe figs can become undesirable due to fermentative products. Shriveling of the skin and decay are other post-harvest problems. Various chemical treatments such as chlorine and sulphur dioxide have been used to improve the shelf life and to arrest the decay of figs. However, there is growing demand for environment friendly and safer alternatives. Controlled atmospheric storage has been also explored as alternative storage method. Edible coating using natural biomaterials is being explored as a safer alternative to extend the shelf life of perishable food crops. Aloe vera gel has been identified as a novel coating agent with good antimicrobial properties, good results of using Aloe gel coating on papaya fruits. studies revealed absence of studies in this direction for fresh figs. Hence, studies were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of Aloe vera gel as an edible coating to extent the shelf life of fresh figs.
