Effect of structure and type of produce on respiration rate.

Shonnia Simin (188998)

Department of Food Technology, Faculty of Food Science and Technoogy, University Putra
Malaysia, 43400 Serdang, Selangor, Malaysia.

Abstract: The main objective of the present study was to determine the respiration rate based
on different structure and type of produce. The samples were cut in a cube size and placed
into a closed jar for 2 hours. The respiration rate of the samples were determined based on
the observation of the water droplets that present in the closed jar. From the observation,
mung sprout beans, long beans and broccoli were classified as high respiration rate. Carrot
and cabbage were classified as medium respiration rate while sweet potato classified as low
respiration rate. Overall, respiration rate was found as one of the important measurements
and consideration in reducing post-harvest loss. Hence, proper control measurements
should be studied in order to slow down the aging process and reduce post-harvest loss.

Keywords: Respiration rate, post harvest, water droplets, observation.

Introduction

Post-harvest technology are usually focusing on the loss reduction and quality optimization
especially during the fresh fruits and vegetables post-harvest chain. Hence, there are several
control measures are taken to prevent undesirable changes to the fresh produce. In order to
maximize the post-harvest control, there are few factors that needed to taken care in order to
prevent post-harvest losses. These include the varieties or types of produces, post-harvest
operation (storage, transport and marketing) and also the physical changes of produces due to
respiration and ripening.

Materials and Methods

Materials and Apparatus

Bean sprout, long beans, broccoli, carrot, cabbage and sweet potatoes were obtained
from a local supermarket (Selangor, Malaysia). Apparatus used were chopping board, knife,
plastic jar with cap and weight balance.

Methods

The samples were cut into cube size (2cm x 2cm) or 2cm long. They were then weighed
for 100g and placed into a closed jar. All the samples were prepared in triplicate. The
samples were observed after 2 hours, the respiration rate of each samples were determined by
their amount of released of water vapour.

Results and Discussion

Table 1. Respiration rate of each type of produces.

Type of produce Respiration rate

Mung bean sprouts High

Long beans High

Broccoli High

Carrot Medium

Cabbage Medium

Sweet potato Low

The respiration rate of each type of produces is provided in Table 1. Respiration rate was
determined by observation on the produce’s formation of water droplets in jar. This is
because during respiration process, produce consumed oxygen and the carbohydrates stored
will break down which release water, carbon dioxide and energy. Therefore, for high
respiration rate, high amount of water droplets were observed in the closed jar. Thus,
different type of produces has different respiration rate and this is an important consideration
in optimizing post-harvest quality.
 According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), respiration rate can be
influenced by the type of produce. This can be explained as vegetables consists of great
diversity plant organs (roots, tubers,seeds,flowers, leaves,stems and sprouts) which all of
them have different metabolic activities, thus, different respiration rates (Fonseca et al. 2002).
Surface area ratio of the produce also one of the factors that cause different respiration rate,.
The greater the surface area, the faster the water loss. Moreover, the high amount of pores on
the surface on the produce also contribute to the high respiration rate. For example, sweet
potato which has a thick skin with few pores has a low respiration rate (FAO, n.d).

Respiration process in fresh produce often link to the post-harvest loss due to the
deterioration of produces’ quality (Mangal and Dhyani, 2013). If respiration process
happened too fast, the aging process will be faster, this will affect the storage time period of
the produce. Hence, in order to prolong the shelf life of the produces, modified atmosphere
packaging (MAP) design is applied. The modified atmosphere condition can control the
timing of climacteric rise by delaying as stated in a study conducted by Young, Romani and
Biale (1962). Other than that, the most important external factor is temperature. In an
optimum temperature, enzymes are in the best condition which increase the respiration rate.
At high temperature, denaturation of enzymes will occur and reduce respiration rates while at
lower temperature, respiration rate will slower but if it is too low, will cause injury cause in
higher respiration rate.

Conclusion

In conclusion, different types (plant organ) of produce will have different respiration rate
due to different metabolic activity, surface area ratio and amount of pores. Respiration rate
plays an important measurement that affect the post-harvest loss. Hence, proper control
measurements should be studied in order to slow down the aging process and reduce
post-harvest loss.

References