Effect of calcium chloride treatment on quality of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp).

摘要

The chill-sensitive cowpea cv "Guinong" was subjected to different pre- and post-harvest calcium treatments in order to determine an effective means of increasing shelf life and reducing the incidence and severity of rust stains. However, treatment by post-harvest calcium chloride dipping was not found to be effective in reducing the rust stains. "Guinong" were foliar sprayed with 0.2% calcium chloride solution and harvested at the 30-50% stage of maturity. At harvest, treated pods had lower soluble protein and malondialdehyde (MDA) than the control, while no effect was observed on chlorophyll content and the time required for ripening. During low temperature storage, lower levels of decay rate, weight loss, soluble protein, chlorophyll content, peroxidase activity and MDA were found in treated pods compared with the control. In addition, the storability of treated pods was extended for up to 15 days more than that of the control.