Effect of evaporative cooling storage on ripening and quality of tomato.

Tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill cv. Rupali) ripened in evaporative
cooling (EC) storage conditions (20°C-25"C, 92-95% RH) were compared with
control fruits stored under room conditions (2BoC-33"C, 45-65% RH) during
summer in Mysore. EC ripened tomatoes on the 15th day reached 100% ripening
index (RI) with a value of 2.48 for the ratio of redness to yellowishness (alb)
and hue angle (6) of 22.1" whereas the control tomatoes on the same day reached
a maximum 83.3% RI with alb ratio of 1.59 and a hue angle of 32.9". Higher
development of chroma and total color difference were exhibited by EC stored
tomatoes than control samples. The lycopene content of EC ripened fruits double
that of the control. EC stored fruits showed lower values for rupture and shear
stresses. The rate of moisture loss,for control fruits was 6.5 times as great as
for EC stored tomatoes.