EFFECTS OF FERTILIZATION AND PACKING TREATMENTS ON STORABILITY OF Anethum graveolens HERB

Menesy,, Fardous A.; El-Mahrouk, E. M.; Sidky, Mahassen M. A.; Rashad, Nahed M.

doi:10.21608/jpp.2002.257208

EFFECTS OF FERTILIZATION AND PACKING TREATMENTS ON STORABILITY OF Anethum graveolens HERB

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Horticulture Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Kafr El-Sheikh University.

² Medicinal and Aromatic Plants Research Department, Horticulture Research Institute, Agricultural Research Center, Dokky, Cairo, Egypt.

10.21608/jpp.2002.257208

Abstract

The present study was conducted during two successive seasons (1999-2000 and 2000-2001) to investigate the effect of packing material and storage duration on the quality of Anethum graveolens fresh herb. The plants were grown under different fertilization regimes that may also have impact in this respect. The fresh herb was packed in either perforated or non-perforated polyethylene bags and stored at 0ºC and 98% relative humidity for either 15, 30 or 40 days. The stored herb was investigated with regard to weight loss, respiration rate, as well as its contents of vitamin C, chlorophyll (a and b), N, P, and K. The results revealed that the most proper storage period should not exceed than 30 days, since longer periods negatively affected the studied compounds of the herb. The non-perforated packages proved to be better than the perforated one, it help in keeping the herb freshness and chemical composition. Herb collected from plants received organic manure plus bio-fertilizers was the best compared to that received other fertilization treatments. Under such treatment the herb kept its contents of chlorophyll (a and b), vitamin C and minerals at their highest levels.

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