David Septian Sumanto Marpaung, Miftahul Fauzi, Ayu Oshin Yap Sinaga, Nova Anika, Setyadi Gumaran
The high demand for Papaya (Carica Papaya L.) comes from their rich nutritional composition and excellent flavours. However, this climacteric fruit could rapidly degrade if poor postharvest handling occurs during distribution. Mechanical damage during transportation is inevitable, but it can be minimised using proper packaging. To reduce the mechanical damage of the fruit, partition cardboard packaging was used in this study. The results showed that compared to the control (wooden crate), the partition packaging could suppress mechanical damage of Papaya fruit by 26.7% reduction. Furthermore, the physical parameters, such as weight loss, firmness, and colour, as well as physiological parameters (TSS), were investigated. The partition packaging resulted in the lowest weight loss, highest firmness, well-maintained greenness, and highest TSS of transported Papaya after six days of ambient temperature storage. These results suggested the partition packaging could be used for commercialised packaging in transportation to desirable quality of Papaya. © 2024 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
Department of Biosystems Engineering, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Jl. Terusan Ryacudu, Way Huwi, Kec. Jati Agung, Lampung Selatan, Lampung, 35365, Indonesia; Department of Biology, Institut Teknologi Sumatera, Jl. Terusan Ryacudu, Way Huwi, Kec. Jati Agung, Lampung Selatan, Lampung, 35365, Indonesia