Qualitative traits and shelf life of fig fruit (‘Melanzana’) treated with Aloe vera gel coating

The fig (Ficus carica L.) cultivar ‘Melanzana’ is typical of Southern Italy. This cultivar produces breba fruit in June and fig fruit in August. Some previous studies on the use of coatings extracted from stems of Aloe vera showed positive effects to maintain fruit quality during shelf life. However, there are no studies on breba fig fruit treated with Aloe vera coating. In this study breba fig fruit, ‘Melanzana’, was treated with an application of Aloe vera gel, sealed in macro-perforated bag and stored at 5°C for 10 days. The effect of application of the Aloe vera gel on the shelf life of this fruit, and its quality attributes after application were evaluated measuring fresh weight, total soluble solids content and fruit firmness. Results showed that this edible coating was effective in terms of maintenance of fresh weight and fruit firmness and improvement of breba fig quality during 7 days of storage.