Poster presentation on the research article carried out during Internship period LEE presented in National Horticulture society Seminar Held in Kirtipur.

1. Effect of ethephon on post-harvest characteristics of kiwi (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Monty) in
Dolakha, Nepal
Madan Sapkota1*, Bishal Shrestha2, Divya Pandey1,Subash Sapkota1
1 Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal
2 Department of Horticulture, Agriculture and Forestry University, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal
*Correspondence Email : sapkotamadan999@gmail.com
An experiment was conducted in laboratory of Rural Development Tuki
Association, Dolakha in 2019 to study the effect of ethephon on post-harvest
characteristics of kiwifruit and identify appropriate concentration required
for timely ripening of kiwis. It was laid out in Completely Randomized
Design (CRD) with five treatments having different concentration of
ethephon i.e T1 = Control, T2 = 100 ppm, T3 = 300 ppm, T4 =500 ppm and T5
= 700 ppm, each replicated four times and Monty variety of kiwi were used
under study. The study showed that at the peak period of ripening, fruits
treated with 700 ppm led to maximum TSS (16.630brix), lowest titratable
acidity (0.66%), maximum TSS/TA (25.57), maximum physiological weight
loss(17.28%) and highest pH(4.08) whereas Control fruits showed minimum
TSS(12.00brix), maximum acid content (1.1%), minimum TSS/TA(12.1),
lowest physiological weight loss ( 11.8%) and lowest Ph (3.5) during 3oth
day of treatment. The storage life of fruits treated with 700 ppm was
minimum (16.25 days) followed by 500 ppm (22.13 days) but it was
maximum (48.25 days) in case of control fruits. Eating quality declined
significantly in highest dose (700ppm) of ethephon at the end of ripening
period and in this stage, 500 ppm ethephon developed very good edible
quality (2.75) followed by 300 ppm (2.25). In a nutshell, considering the
post-harvest life and quality attributes, the concentration of ethephon
ranging from (500-700) ppm was found appropriate for timely ripening of
kiwi.
Keywords: Kiwifruit, climacteric, ethephon, post-harvest, ripening
 Kiwi is a new and emerging fruit in context of Nepal.
 Kiwi occupy 551 ha total area, 186 ha productive area with productivity
of 4 mt/ha in Nepal (MOAD, 2016/17)
 Dolakha is one of the most potential district for kiwi production.
 In context of Dolakha, it occupies 160 ha total area, 35 ha productive
area, 185 mt production and 5.29 mt/ha productivity (PMAMP, 2018/19)
 Kiwi shows climacteric nature and hence, ripening in kiwi is being a hot
topic of discussion.
 Ethephon treatment can be considered as a best method to induce ripening
in Kiwi.
Statement of problem
 Late and uneven ripening of fruits
 Unscientific use of ethephon leading to hazardous health
 Producer not aware about proper method to induce timely and uniform
ripening in kiwi
Objectives
 To identify the appropriate concentration of ethephon required for timely
and uniform ripening of fruit
 To know the effects of different doses of ethephon in post harvest life of
kiwi
 To analyze the effect of ethephon doses on quality attributes of harvested
kiwi
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 Research site : Rural Development Tuki Association, Charikot, Dolakha
 Duration of experiment :2 month (February 2019 to April 2019)
 Monty variety was used under study
 Experimental Design: Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with 5
Treatments and 4 Replications
 Each plot had 14 kiwi fruits, out of them 10 were taken as destructive
samples and 4 as non-destructive samples.
 The harvested kiwi fruits were treated with different concentrations of
ethephon 39% SL (Kripon)
Treatment Formulation
Control (Untreated Kiwi) -
100 ppm ethephon 5.13 ml/20 L of water
300 ppm ethephon 15.4 ml/20 L of water
500 ppm ethephon 25.65 ml/ 20 L of water
700 ppm ethephon 35.9 ml/20 L of water
Table 1. Different treatments used and their formulation
8.5 9.5
5.5
9 7.5 7.5 9.5 8.5 9 8.5
72
77
82
76 75 72
77
67
79
75
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
Temprature/RH
Days Tempr Rh
 The observed parameters were: Total Soluble Solids (TSS), Titratable
acidity (TA), TSS/TA, pH, Physiological loss in weight , Storage days and
Sensory evaluation
Background Information
Rationale of study
 Address the problem of late and uneven ripening of fruits
 Appropriate concentration of the chemical for ripening with minimum
health hazard
 Decrease the post harvest loss and market risk
RESULTS
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
CONCLUSION
 Ethephon treatment in kiwifruit was found effective as the ethephon
treated fruit ripe quicker as compared to control fruit
 On increasing the dose of ethephon, the maximum value of TSS,
TSS/TA and pH was found at the end of ripening period in 700 ppm
but highest dose resulted in maximum physiological weight loss,
shorten storage life due to early rotting and decline in eating(sensory)
quality
 Considering the post harvest life and quality attributes of kiwi, the
concentration of ethephon ranging from (500-700)ppm was found
appropriate for ripening of kiwi
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
We would like to acknowledge Agriculture and Forestry University (AFU)
and Prime Minister Agriculture Modernization Project (PMAMP) for
providing funds and technical supports for carrying out this experiment.
Special thanks to Rural Development Tuki Association, Dolakha for
providing sophisticated lab for the experiment.
REFERENCES
 MOAD. 2016/17. Statistical Information on Nepalese Agriculture.
Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, Singhadurbar,
Kathmandu, Nepal
 Dhakal, S. P. (2018). An introduction of Kiwifruit and cultivation
Technology. Charikot: Temperate fruits rootstock development centre.
 Bal, E., & Kok, D. (2007). The Effects of Glycerin Added Ethephon
Treatments on Fruit Characteristics of Actinidia deliciosa Cv.
Hayward. Bulgarian Journal of Agricultural Science, 13 (2007), 291-
300 National Centre for Agrarian Sciences, 291-300.
 Dhillion, W., & Mahajan, B. (2011, March). Ethylene and ethephon
induced fruit ripening in pear. Journal of stored products and
postharvest research , 2(3), 45-51.
 Wright, H., & Heatherbell, D. (1967). A study of Respiratory trends
and some associated physiochemical changes of chinese gooseberry
fruit Actinidia chinensis during later stage of development.
Newzealand Journal of Agriculture Research, 10, 405-414.
Presented at National Horticulture Seminar, 2020 Kathmandu Nepal, held at Warm Temperate Horticulture Center, Kirtipur on Feb 6-7, 2020
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
TSS
Days of treatment
Control
100 ppm
300 ppm
500 ppm
700 ppm
Fig 2. Graph showing effect of different concentration of ethephon in total soluble
solid content (TSS) with advancement in days of treatment
Fig 3. Graph showing effect of different concentration of ethephon in titratable
acidity (TA) with advancement in days of treatment
Fig 4: Graph showing effect of different concentration of ethephon in pH with
advancement in days of treatment
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20
3 6 9 12 15 18 21 24 27 30
PLW
Days of treatment
Control
100 ppm
300 ppm
500 ppm
700 ppm
Fig 5. Graph showing effect of different concentration of ethephon in Physiological
loss in weight (PLW) with advancement in days of treatment
Days of treatment
 The effect of ethephon treatment in Kiwi fruits showed highly
significant result in contrast to control fruits with respect to all
parameters based on LSD at P=0.05.
 The maximum TSS content was observed in fruits treated with 700 ppm
and ranged from 9.730brix on 3rd days to 16.630brix on 9th days of
treatment(Peak period of ripening) whereas minimum TSS content was
shown by control fruits throughout ripening period and ranged from
8.30brix on 3rd day to 12.00brix on 30th day of treatment.
 Higher acidity was recorded in control fruits which was 1.45% on 3rd
day to 1.1% on 30th day of treatment whereas minimum acid content
was recorded in 700 ppm 1.24% on 3rd day to 0.66 on 9th day of
treatment.
 The significantly maximum ratio was observed in fruits treated with
700 ppm ranging from 7.89 on 3rd day to 25.57 on 9th days of treatment
followed by fruits treated with 500 ppm whereas minimum ratio was
observed in control fruits ranging from 5.18 on 3rd day to 12.1 on 30th
day.
 Higher pH value was observed in fruits treated with 700 ppm from 3.33
to 4.08 on 3rd and 12th day after treatment whereas minimum pH value
was exhibited by control fruits which was 3.13 to 3.5 on 3rd and 30th
day of treatment.
 Maximum physiological weight loss was recorded in fruits treated with
700 ppm ranged from 4.76% to 17.28% on 3rd day and 15th day of
treatment respectively whereas minimum weight loss was recorded in
control fruits and ranged from 2.2% to 11.8% on 3rd and 30th day of
treatment respectively.
 Maximum storage life of 48.25 days was exhibited by 700 ppm fruits
followed by 100 ppm (32.75 days) whereas minimum storage life was
observed in fruits treated with 750 ppm i.e. 16.25 days which is
followed by fruits treated with 500 ppm(22.13 days).
 After 7 days of treatment, fruits treated in ethephon 700ppm
(2.75)developed very much desirable eating quality while the control
fruits after the same time had inferior sensory quality(1.0). After 14
days of treatment, maximum sensory quality was developed in fruits
treated with 500 ppm(2.5) whereas control fruit still showed no change
in quality(1.0).
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
Control 100 ppm 300 ppm 500 ppm 700 ppm
Storagedays
Concentration of ethephon used
Fig 6. Graph showing effect of different concentration of ethephon in storage
days
DISCUSSION
 The collected data were compiled by using the Ms-excel program and
subjected to analysis of variance using R-STAT software package.
 Means of separation was done by LSD analysis at 5% level of
significance.
 Graph and tables were constructed by using the MS-excel.
Figure 1. Graph showing the meterological data (Average temperature (0c) and
Relative humidity (%) recorded)