The Efficacy of Aloe-vera Coating on Postharvest Shelf Life and Quality Tomato Fruits during Storage

The efficacy of Aloe vera coating on the postharvest shelf life and quality of tomato fruits in storage was evaluated. Two varieties of tomatoes namely UTC and Roma were collected from different market in Makurdi, washed and treated with Aloe vera coatings in concentrations of 0%, 20%, 60% and 100%. The tomato fruits were afterwards left in storage for a period of 16 days during which physical properties relating to tomato qualities were recorded appropriately. 0% and 100% concentrations of Aloe vera coating produced the highest and lowest decay values respectively on days 7, 10, 13 and 16 with Roma having a higher decay percentage than UTC and the difference was significant. Firmness increased with increase in Aloe vera treatment at all concentrations but was not significant. Marketability of the tomato fruits treated with Aloe vera at 100% concentration was higher than those treated with 60%, 20% and 0% respectively with UTC variety producing higher values of marketability than Roma. Roma treated with 100% concentration of Aloe vera coating also had the highest fruit weight on days 1, 4, 7 and 16 while UTC treated with 100% concentration of Aloe vera coating recorded their peak weights on days 10 and 13 with shelf life showing no significant difference across all concentrations. Aloe vera is therefore an efficient bio-preservative and can be used as a successful alternative to synthetic preservatives.