Effect of fungicide and essential oils amended wax coating on quality and shelf life 77-90 of sweet orange (Citrus sinensis Osbeck)

Laboratory research was conducted to study the effect of wax amended coating on the shelf life of Citrus sinensis Osbeck during 2017-18 at Rampur, Chitwan. The experiment was conducted in single factor Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with nine treatments and four replications. The treatments consisted of carbendazim and three essential oils viz. lemongrass, mentha and eucalyptus oil at two different concentrations of 0.1% and 0.5%, all of them infused with 10% wax emulsion. The wax treatment devoid of fungicide and essential oils served as control. The application of essential oils with wax improved shelf life and enhanced juice retention, firmness, titratable acidity, vitamin C and disease reduction. But total soluble solid was found higher in fruits treated with wax emulsion only. The highest shelf life and disease control was obtained with wax with 0.5% carbendazim but waxing with 0.5% eucalyptus oil and 0.5% lemongrass oil can be better alternatives considering their superior performance in environmental aspects, consumer preferences and quality parameters like juice retention, firmness, titratable acidity and vitamin C