Development and Performance Evaluation of Indigenously Made Cooling Chambers for Extending the Shelf Life of Mangoes and Sweet Oranges

A study was conducted to develop, construct and evaluate the performance of cooling chambers made from factory pressed burnt clay (structure-1), locally molded mud blocks (structure-2) and wood wall (structure-3) for extending the shelf life of mangoes and sweet oranges. It was observed that structure-1 significantly (p&#88040.05) registered low temperature and high relative humidity over structure-2 and structure-3. Significant lower physiological loss (p&#88040.05) in weight (PLW) was observed in commodities stored under structure-1 due to the low temperature and high RH probably arising from the low vapor pressure. Structure-2 registered significantly (p&#88040.05) low PLW as compared to structure-3 attributable to the differences in wall thickness. Total soluble solids increased as storage time progressed. The rate of increment, however, was significantly lower in mangoes stored under structure-1 as compared to the other chambers. The juice content of the commodities decreased over time irrespective of cooling chambers. The rate of reduction in juice content was, however; significantly lower in structure-1 than the other two. Keywords: Cooling-Chamber; Mango; Shelf-life; Sweet-Orange East African Journal of Sciences Vol. 1 (2) 2007: pp. 127-13