Abstract
Ber fruits of two varieties having variable shelf lives viz. Umran (8-9 days) and Kaithali (4-5 days) given post-harvest treatments of calcium chloride (1% and 2%) were analyzed for various cell wall components, cell wall hydrolyzing enzymes and fruit firmness at 2 days interval until complete decay. There was a continuous decrease in cellulose, hemicellulose and pectin contents during storage in both the varieties with more reduction in Kaithali, a variety having short shelf-life. The decline in cell wall components was accompanied by parallel increase in activities of cellulase, polygalacturonase (PG) and pectin methylesterase (PME). Post-harvest treatment of Ber fruits with calcium chloride resulted in significantly lowering of activities of cellulase (20-22%), PG (23-29%) and PME (25-28%) thereby retaining higher cell wall components viz. cellulose (9-11%), hemicellulose (7-8%) and pectin (12-13%) as compared to their respective control in both the varieties. The delay in cell wall hydrolysis, as mediated by calcium chloride corresponded to the higher retention of fruit firmness.