Effect of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) treatment on physicochemical characteristics of tomato fruits during post-harvest storage

Tomato is a perishable vegetable crop and it faces several problems during marketing and storage. Postharvest losses during storage of tomato fruits are mainly due to decay. In this study, the effect of postharvest application of hydrogen peroxide on quality and decay of tomato fruits during storage under two storage temperatures (10 degreesC and 20 degreesC) was studied. Tomato fruits (Red rose cv.) at light red maturity stage were dipped in a solution of hydrogen peroxide (0, 5 and 15 mM) for 30 min, then air-dried at room temperature and stored at room temperature (20 degreesC) for three weeks in fridge (10 degreesC) for 4 weeks. A factorial (3 x 2) complete randomized design with three replications was used. The results showed that Hydrogen peroxide treatments reduced weight loss and disease incidence percentage of fruits compared with control treatment (0 mM hydrogen peroxide). Moreover, hydrogen peroxide treatments had slight effect on fruit firmness. Regarding TSS% and ascorbic acid content, there were no significant differences among treatments. In addition, storage temperature affected tomato fruit quality during storage time. Therefore, the use of hydrogen peroxide in postharvest treatments is useful to keep quality of tomato fruits under storage conditions.