Tropical and subtropical vegetables (2+1)

Storage and marketing

• Fruits at mature green stage could be stored successfully at 12-130-C in PE bags of 100 gauge thickness for 4-5 weeks. Cool chamber storage extended the shelf life of tomatoes during summer season. Usually bamboo basket and wooden boxes of various size and shapes are used for packing tomato. Wooden boxes are generally used for packing for long distance markets. Use of PE bags for pre packing of tomato could reduce the physiological loss in weight and TS shelf life. Tomatoes can be stored in low temperature and evaporative cool storage. In India tomatoes are not commercially stored in cold storage. Pre cooling of tomato after harvest and prior to storage and transportation are reported to prolong their storage life.