CHRISTIAN EARVIN D. BONDOC, REMEDIOS MONICA G. QUITASOL, JED MARK D. TAMAYO (FEBRUARY 2007)
Philippine Science High School Western Visayas Campus – Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PSHS WVC), Brgy. Bito-on, Jaro, Iloilo City 5000, Philippines
ABSTRACT
Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is among the nation’s major exports to other countries However, fungal diseases such as anthracnose and stem end rot affect the quality of the mangoes.
Recent studies recommend the investigation of the use of essential oil as supplement to traditional postharvest treatment of fruits Eucalyptus (Eucalypti aetheroleum) oil and Peppermint (Mentha piperita) oil have proven antifungal activity.
This study aimed to determine the quality of Carabao mangoes that were fumigated with Eucalyptus oil and Peppermint oil for ten minutes in addition to hot water treatment (HWT) in terms of percent diseased area, percent green peel, flesh juiciness, and flesh sweetness after thirteen days of storage.
One hundred twenty mangoes were harvested and randomly assigned to four treatment groups with three replicates each hot water treated (HWT) alone, HWT with Eucalyptus oil, HWT with Peppermint oil, and untreated.
Results of the statistical analysis [One-Way ANOVA and Fisher’s LSD (α=0.05)] showed that for percent green peel (p=0.047, a=0.05), the means of Eucalyptus group and Peppermint group are both equal to that of the HWT group but both are also less than that of the untreated group However, no significant differences exist in the percent diseased area (p=0.721, a-0.05), flesh juiciness (p=0.234, a=0.05), and flesh sweetness (p=0.802, α=0 05) of mangoes from the four set-ups.
Fumigation with Eucalyptus oil and Peppermint oil does not inhibit the growth of anthracnose and stem end rot. It also does not affect the flesh sweetness, and flesh juiciness of ‘Carabao’ mangoes.