EFFECTS OF MICROENVIRONMENT ON QUALITY OF CAPSICUM ANNUM(BELL PEPPER)

Abstract

Bell pepper (Capsicum annum) is an annual herbaceous vegetable crop which belongs to the family solanaceae which is rich in vitamins, especially A and C, and low in calories.Capsicum annumis increasingly being packed in polyethylene (PE) bags in Nigeria for storage and sales. It is probably assumed that packaging increases the shelf life of pepper. This study investigated the effect of the microenvironment in PE package on the quality of pepper.Freshly harvested ripe peppers were packaged in PE of various thickness 2.5, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0 and 40.0 μm and stored at 26 oC while a set was left in aluminium foil in an aerated cage. The incidence of pepper fruit decay was determined; also contents of Vitamin C, β-carotene, alcohol and aldehydes in the peppers were determined during storage. Carbondioxide content was also estimated in the PE packages. Fungi species isolated from the rotten Capsicum annum were Aspergillusniger, Geotrichumcandidum and Fusarium oxsyporum. Fruits without packaging had less decay incidence. The result showed that at 26oC and 91% relative humidity, the shelf life of bell pepper sealed in polyethylene package varied with the thickness of PE. The thickest polyethylene (40μm) protected the fruits from decaying better than the thinner PE (2.5μm) within four days. There was no significant difference in incidence of decay among fruits in 2.5, 5.0, 10.0 and 20.0μm PE. The amount of Vitamin C and β-Carotene decreased with storage while the amount of ethanol and acetaldehyde increased as a result of the hypoxic environment in the packages.The CO2 in the packages was initially more than the control although there was no consistent trend in the increase with increasing thickness of polyethylene.