Changes in Physicochemical and Sensory Qualities of “Goha ” Strawberries Treated with Different Conditions of Carbon Dioxide

Harvested strawberry fruit is highly perishable because of its soft texture and microbial infesta-tion during postharvest handling. The applications of carbon dioxide (CO2) gas on the quality pa-rameters of strawberry harvested in winter season have shown better effects in several studies. However, very little information is available for the same in summer harvested strawberry. This study was aimed at finding an optimum concentration and duration of CO2 treatment in strawber-ry fruit var. “Goha ” harvested in summer season to increase or maintain postharvest qualities. Fresh strawberries were treated with 15%, 30 % and 50 % CO2 for 1 or 3 h and then stored at 4˚C for up to 13 days along with untreated control. Strawberry samples treated with 50 % CO2 for 1 or 3 h and both 15 % and 30 % for 3 h had higher firmness than samples treated with both 15 % and 30 % for 1 h and control. In general, total soluble solids (TSS) slightly increased or maintained during storage in all samples except control. The values of pH slightly declined whereas titratable acidity showed opposite trends. However, there was no significant difference found among CO2 treated samples. Lightness (L*) of “Goha ” samples with no CO2 treatment decreased gradually while it was almost maintained in CO2 treated strawberries. Strawberry samples treated with 15