AMOL UTTAMRAO GAIKWAD AND GENITHA IMMANUEL
Abstract
The present investigation entitled âAssessment of Quality of Table Grapes (Vitis vinifera) for Export in Pack houseâ was carried out during grape season at a pack house, in District Nashik, Maharashtra. The study was carried out to assess the physical and chemical quality parameters of grapes from different farms to the pack house and the quality of grapes at various stages of post-harvest operations in the pack house. The grape (Thompson seedless) variety was selected. Five farms were identified and six treatments based on desired quality were finalized. T1 (TSS Brix), T2 (Titratable Acidity), T3 (Grape berry size mm), T4 (Color), T5 (weight per bunches), T6 (Pre-cooling temperature and cold storage temperature). The TSS of the grapes varied from 17.07°Bx (farm 5) to 19.66°Bx (farm 1, 2, 3, 4). The titratable acidity of grapes varied from 3.20% (farm 5) to 3.3.4% (farm 1, 2). The grapes berry size ranged from 16mm (farm 1, 4, 5) to 18 mm (farm 3) while the weight of grape bunches varied from 168 g (farm 5) to 210 g (farm 3). For pre-cooling, the temperature was 5 oC to 0 oC and for cold storage, it was 0 oC to 2 oC. The farms having such qualities were preferred in pack houses as these grapes can be exported for higher economic returns.