Document Type : Research Paper
Authors
1 Assistant Professor, Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran.
2 2- Associate Professor, Agricultural Engineering Research Department, Khuzestan Agricultural and Natural Resources Research and Education Center, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Ahvaz, Iran.
3 3- Assistant Professor, Food and Postharvest Technology Research Division, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.
4 4- Assistant Professor, Farm Power an Machinery Department, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute, Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran.
Abstract
Barhi date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L. cv. Barhi) is one of the most important commercial cultivars, with large-scale production concentrated in Khuzestan Province, Iran. In recent years, climatic changes and the occurrence of dust storms in date-producing regions have intensified dust contamination of dates, thereby reducing the quality and market value of the national product. In this study, several cleaning methods were applied to Barhi dates at the Khalal stage, including: washing fruit clusters using a telescopic lance with water, a telescopic lance with 0.5% chitosan solution, a conventional lance from below, and compressed air. Samples were collected before treatment, one day after treatment, and one month after treatment. They were analyzed for microbial load, chemical properties, and color characteristics, and the results were compared with the untreated control samples. The results showed that both the harvesting stage and the cleaning method had a significant interactive effect on microbial tests and on the lightness and redness indices of the samples, while in other tests (total sugars, reducing sugars, acidity, ascorbic acid, ºBrix, pH, moisture, tannin content and yellowness indices) only the harvesting stage showed a significant effect. The application of the chitosan solution effectively eliminated fungal contamination (0 CFU/g) from the surface of Barhi fruits at the Khalal stage, and the fungal count did not increase after one month. Furthermore, chitosan application did not cause any undesirable changes in the ripening stage or in the qualitative properties of Barhi fruits, and was therefore evaluated as a beneficial treatment.
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