Naphthalene acetic acid and ferrous sulphate induced changes in physico-chemical composition and shelf-life of ber

The ber (Zizyphus mauritiana L.) fruits of cv. Gola were subjected to various treatments of naphthalene acetic acid (NAAI) and ferrous sulphate to determine their effect on physico-chemical characteristics and shelf life of fruits. NAA @ 0, 50, 75 and 100 ppm and ferrous sulphate @ 0, 0.2, 0.3 and 0.4% were applied alone as well as in combination form during fruit development stage (pea size). The results revealed that 100 ppm NAA and 0.4% FeSO4 was found most effective in significantly increasing the fruit weight (18.35 & 22.95%), fruit length (23.11 & 27.95%) and fruit width (20.15 & 17.9%) respectively over the control. Though, the TSS of fruits was slightly reduced. The application of 75 ppm NAA and 0.3% FeSO4 helped in maintaining the marketability and also reduced the fruit weight loss (2.19 and 2.41%) and fruit decay loss (10.37 and 9.81%), respectively over the control. Application of 100 ppm NAA and 0.4% FeSO4 was found most economical than the other treatments.