Comparison of postharvest quality of Aralia elata shoot according to packaging methods

Abstract

In this study, we aimed to evaluate the quality of Aralia elata shoots according to different packaging methods during storage at 2°C. The highest level of dehydration and wilting incidences were observed in polypropylene containers with polyvinyl chloride wrap (PP+PVC), and these levels continually increased during the entire storage period, compared to other packaging methods. The overall marketability of A. elata shoot packaged in polyethylene terephthalate container (PET) and PP with the mineral-coted functional warp (PP+F) constantly declined during storage with a similar level of 38.6 and 36.0% at 15 days in storage, respectively. PP with PET cover packaging (PP+PET) showed the lowest decay and wilting rates during the entire storage, and the wilting score at 10th day was 51.9, 58.0, 51.8% suppressed, as compared to PET, PP+PVC, and PP+F, respectively. Consequently PP+PET packaging effectively decreased the deterioration of A. elata and maintained marketability for 10 days of storage at 2°C.