Postharvest quality response of pears with beeswax coatings during long term cold storage

Lipid-based edible coatings are effective in maintaining the chemical and sensory characteristics of fruits for long-term storage by inhibiting the rate of respiration and transpiration. With this view, an investigation was conducted on the preservation of postharvest quality of pears using beeswax coating through modulating respiration and ripening associated enzymes during <b>long-term cold storage</b>. Asian pears (<i>Pyrus pyrifolia</i> L. <i>cv</i>. ‘Patharnakh’) were coated with beeswax (0 g, 20 g, 30 g, 40 g L⁻¹) and stored at 0–1 °C and 90–95% relative humidity for 70 d. The results showed that the beeswax coatings maintained fruit firmness and quality parameters and exhibited lesser activities of fruit softening enzymes pectin methylesterase, polygalacturonase and cellulase during the cold storage. Furthermore, at an optimum concentration beeswax coatings retarded the oxidative browning, a decline in ascorbic acid levels and total phenolic content of pears. Nevertheless, at the end of storage, the highest concentration (40 g L⁻¹) of beeswax coatings exhibited higher browning index (BI) and polyphenol oxidase activity (PPO) even more than the untreated fruits. Therefore, the optimum concentration of 30 g L⁻¹ beeswax coating is suggested to preserve the quality of ‘Patharnakh’ pear through modulation of respiration and ripening enzymes during long-term cold storage.