Trends in Potassium Permanganate (Ethylene Absorbent) Management Strategies: Towards Mitigating Postharvest Losses and Quality of Mango (Mangifera indica L) Fruit

Abstract

Mango fruit exhibited great postharvest losses due to its climacteric pattern of respiration and high perishability. During storage periods, a high rate of water loss takes place by the process of evaporation and transpiration, which greatly affects market value and quality. The influence of potassium permanganate on the quality and storage life of mango (cv. Anwar Rataul) fruit was investigated by harvesting the fruit at the hard green stage of maturity and treating it with various potassium permanganate levels (0 (untreated), 10, 20, 30, 40, and 50 g). The treated and untreated fruits were stored at a 25 °C temperature while the relative humidity (RH) was kept at 75% and analyzed for quality traits after 0 (fresh fruit), 5, 10, 15, and 20 days). The results showed that the 30 g KMnO₄ was the optimum level to maintain and achieve the maximum values of color, taste, aroma, firmness, total sugar, pH, and total soluble solids (TSS) with the minimum weight loss and waste percent after 20 days of storage. However, higher acidity and ascorbic acid were recorded with the 50 g KMnO₄ level. The untreated fruits (control) did not retain the quality attributes for a longer period of time and deteriorated after 15 days. The results indicated that the KMnO₄ levels and storage durations had significant effects on most of the parameters under the limit P < 0.05.