Effectiveness of Coolbottm Technology to Preserve Quality and Extend Shelf Life of Collards and Tomato Under Different Agro-ecological Conditions

Abstract

Tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and collards (Brassica oleracea var.acephala L.) are the most common vegetables produced and consumed in Kenya. The high perishability of these vegetables results in high postharvest losses along their value chains and the consequent reduced incomes for growers and marketers. Proper cold chain management is necessary to maintain quality of perishable commodities. However, majority of smallholder vegetable growers cannot afford the conventional cold rooms which are used in commercial horticulture. This research evaluated the effectiveness of the CoolBotTM cold room, which is a low-cost cold storage option, coupled with modified atmosphere packaging (Extend ®) to preserve the postharvest quality and extend shelf life of collards and tomatoes. The performance of the technologies was evaluated under two different agro-ecological conditions. Two separate experiments were conducted at Kabete and Juja sub-counties of Kiambu County representing different agro-ecological conditions. Freshly harvested collards were obtained from the University of Nairobi’s Kabete farm, while mature green tomato fruits “Bawito F1” were obtained from a commercial farm in Murang’a County, Kenya. In each experiment, homogenous sample of the fresh collards and tomatoes were divided into four batches for various treatments. The treatments included fruits packaged in Modified Atmosphere Packages (MAP) or left unpackaged and either stored in the CoolBotTM cold room or ambient conditions. The experimental layout was a 2^3 factorial arranged in a completely randomized design with three replications. Measurements in collards were performed daily to determine cumulative weight loss, yellowing, wilting and color changes. Measurements were performed after every 3 days in tomatoes to determine physiological weight loss, fruit firmness and fruit color...