Standardization of corrugated fibre board boxes for packaging and transportation of tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum).

摘要

'All Round' tomato harvested in turning stage was packed in 5- and 7-ply corrugated fibre board (CFB) boxes of 3 different sizes, viz. (i) 300 mm x 200 mm x 200 mm, (ii) 300 mm x 250 mm x 300 mm, and (iii) 400 mm x 300 mm x 300 mm with 5, 10 and 20 kg capacity having 25 mm diameter 1 hole on each side, respectively. Tomatoes packed in CFB boxes of 5- and 7-ply of size 400 mm x 325 mm x 250 mm showed higher damage (24.35% and 22.35%) compared to (15.04-13.25%) for size 300 mm x 200 mm x 200 mm and (18.98-15.65%) for size 300 mm x 250 mm x 300 mm. In road transportation studies 6% bruising damage and 2% cracking damage were observed in CFB box packed tomatoes while transported in truck covering a distance of 300 km. This study revealed that 7-ply CFB box of 300 mm x 250 mm x 300 mm size having 10 kg capacity with paper pieces as cushioning material inside could be used for packaging and transportation of tomatoes.