Agriculture and forestry

Nichchenko Volodymyr Mikhailovich – Doctor of Agricultural Sciences, Professor of the technology of storage and processing of fruits and vegetables of the Uman National University of Horticulture (1 Institute Institute, Uman, building number 4, room 174. E-mail: udau@udau.edu.ua)

Myronyuk Sergey Stepanovich – lecturer of the technology of storage and processing of fruits and vegetables of the Uman National University of Horticulture (1 Institute Institute, Uman, building number 4, room 174. E-mail: udau@udau.edu.ua)

Volkova Tetyana Volodymyrivna – lecturer of the technology of storage and processing of fruits and vegetables of the Uman National University of Horticulture (1 Institute Institute, Uman, building number 4, office 174. E-mail: udau@udau.edu.ua)

In order to improve provision of the Ukrainian population with horticultural products, it is planned to expand its assortment, develop and introduce new advanced technologies that extend the consumption period, reduce losses and better preserve nutritional and dietary properties.

Fruits of eggplant are characterized by low calorie content, high biological and therapeutic properties, and present valuable raw materials for the canning industry.

In general, vegetables, including eggplants, are consumed during their growing season or after a short-term storage. At the same time, a significant part of the produce is affected by phytopathogenic microflora and physiological disorders; therefore there is a need to improve the technology of storage of eggplant.

One of the new directions of preserving the quality of the eggplant is the post-harvest treatment of fruits with solutions of substances with antimicrobial actions, which deprives the fruits of a large number of microorganisms, and as a result they do not lose their natural biological properties for a long time.

The purpose of the research is to study the effect of treatment by aqueous solutions with antimicrobial properties on the preservation of the quality of the eggplants in order to increase the duration of their processing. In order to achieve this goal the following tasks must be resolved:

- determine the shelf life of eggplant fruit;

- yield of marketable produce of fruits when stored in a raw material site and in a refrigerator.

The object of the research is preservation of eggplant fruit after post-harvest treatment with antimicrobial agents and patterns of changes in their quality during storage.

The subject of the research is fresh eggplant fruits of two varieties, Almaz and Surprise, treated with substances with antimicrobial actions.

The storage of eggplant fruits was examined after their treatment with aqueous solutions of antimicrobial actions by 0,5% lemon and 0,1% sorbic acids, 0,1% sodium benzoate, and 0,1% drug Polidez.

Eggplant fruits were sorted on the inspection conveyor by their quality, packed 10 kg in polyethylene mesh and each of the three samples was treated by immersion in an appropriate working solution. The duration of exposure was 0,5-1 minutes. Samples of fruits of both varieties of eggplant, treated with water, were taken as control measurements. After the treatment, the fruits were removed, given the opportunity to drain the solution, dried by the air flow created by the fan, to remove moisture from their surface and stored in storage in the raw material site and the refrigerator. The yield of commercial products of eggplant was determined after its processing and at the end of its storage.

Observations of changes in commercial properties and physicochemical composition of the fruit were carried out every 3 days. The repetition of the experiment is threefold. The hallmark for the expiration of the storage term for eggplant fruit was a mass loss of not more than 10%.

Based on the results of the research, post-harvest processing of eggplant fruit with antimicrobial agents increases its storage time without cooling to 25 days (untreated – 16 days), in cold conditions – to 37 days (untreated – 28 days), for Almaz variety and 22 and 34 days respectively – for Almaz variety and provides 2,1-4,1% more yield of marketable products after storage without cooling and 2,2-4,5 times less quantity of defects, in the refrigerator – by 2,3-3,85 and 1,7-2,9 times respectively.

1. Derzhavnyy reyestr sortiv roslyn prydatnykh dlya poshyrennya v Ukrayini u 2016 r. [State register of plant varieties suitable for distribution in Ukraine in 2016]. K., 2016. 243 p.

2. Baklazhany svizhi [Eggplants fresh]. Tekhnichni umovy: DSTU 2660-94. [Chynnyy vid 1995-01-01]. K., 1995. 13 p.

3. Metodycheskye rekomendatsyy po khranenyiu plodov ovoshchei y vynohrada. Orhanyzatsyia y provedenye yssledovanyi [Methodical recommendations on the storage of fruits of vegetables and grapes. Organization and conducting of research] [S.Yu. Dzheleev, V.Y. Yvanchenko, Э.L. Dzheleeva y dr.] / Pod obshch. red. S.Yu. Dzheleeva y V.Y. Yvanchenko, Yalta. Ynstytut vynohrada y vyna «Maharach», 1998. 152 p

4. Bedyn F.P., Balan E.F., Chumak N.Y. Tekhnolohyya khranenyya rastytel'noho syr'ya [Technology of storage of vegetable raw materials]. Odessa, 2002. 457 p.

5. Korobkyna Z.V. Prohressyvnye metody khranenyya plodov y ovoshchey [Progressive methods of storing fruits and vegetables]. K., 1989. 168 p.

6. Kudryasheva A.A, Mykrobyolohycheskye osnovy sokhranenyya plodov y ovoshchey [Progressive methods of storing fruits and vegetables]. M., 1986. 190 p.

7. Lemeshek K., Kats V.M. Khymycheskye konservanty dlya pyshchevykh produktov [Chemical preservatives for food products]; pod. red. T.P. Ovcharovoy. M., 1969. 104 p.

8. Ovcharova T.P. Sorbynovaya kyslota – konservant pyshchevыkh produktov [Sorbic acid is a preservative of food products]. M., 1964. 44 p.

9. Paliy M. Efektyvne zberihannya ovochiv. Kholod [Effective storage of vegetables. Cold]. 2007. №4. P. 42-43.

10. Paronyan V.Kh., Kyurehyan H.P. Prohressyvnыe sposobы obrabotky plodoovoshchnoy produktsyy pered zakladkoy na khranenye [Progressive ways to process fruit and vegetable products before laying on storage]. Ovoshchevodstvo y teplychnoe khozyaystvo - Vegetable and greenhouse economy. 2007. №9. P. 46-47.