Extending the Storage Life of Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum L.) Using Different Rice Hull-Based By-Products
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.20110854Keywords:
tomato, storage life, postharvest quality, rice hull-based by-products, carbonized rice hull, return on investmentAbstract
This study determined the effectiveness of rice hull-based by-products in extending tomato storage life, maintaining fruit quality, and improving economic return under ambient storage conditions. A 2 x 5 factorial experiment in a Completely Randomized Design with three replications was used. Factor A consisted of two tomato varieties, Diamante Max F1 and Avatar TY F1, while Factor B included five storage treatments: control, carbonized rice hull, rice hull ash, milled rice hull, and rice bran. The evaluated parameters included days to ripening, firmness, weight loss, marketable and non-marketable fruits, color index, storage life, sugar content, total soluble solids, pH, visual quality rating, decay incidence, and return on investment. Results showed that carbonized rice hull significantly delayed ripening, reduced weight loss, increased marketable fruits, extended storage life, and minimized decay incidence. Diamante Max F1 generally exhibited better storage performance than Avatar TY F1 because of slower ripening, lower weight loss, slower color development, and lower decay incidence. The interaction between variety and rice hull-based treatment significantly affected weight loss, marketable fruits, visual quality rating, and decay incidence, with Diamante Max F1 treated with carbonized rice hull producing the best postharvest performance, including the lowest non-marketable fruits at 21.67%. Firmness, total soluble solids, pH, and visual quality rating were not significantly affected by the main treatments. Economically, Avatar TY F1 under the control treatment obtained the highest return on investment at 39.92%, while Diamante Max F1 treated with carbonized rice hull recorded the highest net income for the variety and a 39.20% return on investment. The findings indicate that carbonized rice hull is a practical, low-cost, locally available, and eco-friendly storage medium for reducing tomato postharvest losses, especially for Diamante Max F1.
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