EVALUATION OF FRESH AND FLESHY CUCUMBER QUALITY AND SHELF-LIFE USING CHARCOAL COOLER BIN IN THE TROPICS

Abstract

Adiabatic evaporative cooling is a concept and process adopted for extending the shelf-life of fresh fruits and vegetables in the tropics. This study evaluated Charcoal Cooler Bin (CCB) performance and its effects on the quality and shelf-life of cucumbers. The storage microclimate and ambient conditions (air temperature and relative humidity) were measured using a data logger. By monitoring the physiological and quality parameters, the effects of the storage media: CCB, open-air, refrigerator and laboratory conditions on the storability of cucumber fruits, and the effectiveness of the CCB for fresh cucumber preservation through percentage weight loss, visual quality, degree of shrivelling, colour changes and life of expectancy were evaluated. The CCB markedly maintained the freshness, and reduced weight loss (with a weight loss of 3.4696% after the storage period relative to cucumber samples stored in the refrigerator, laboratory and open-air conditions with 8.4176%, 9.8260%, and 11.2696%, respectively) and extended the shelf-life of cucumbers fruits at CCB environmental conditions. Therefore, CCB is a passive system that is an inexpensive and reliable storage medium for sustainably reducing postharvest losses.