• Hafiza Mehwish Iqbal

• Ali Murad Rahoo

• Shahid Yousaf

• Nasreen Fatima

• Qurrat Ul Ain Akbar

• Salman Khurshid

• Saqib Arif

تلخیص

Citrus (Citrus sinensis) is a prominent fruit being produced and consumed in Pakistan. Its quality is largely influenced by postharvest handling and conditions that imparts huge economic and health implications when not been addressed properly. This study has been attempted to assess the quality of citrus in terms of postharvest physiological disorders and organoleptic properties in relation to the occurrence of pathogenic diseases. Fruit samples (injured and healthy) were taken from the three different local markets of Karachi. Some of the fungal species viz. Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium oxysporum, Rhizopus stolonifer and Alternaria alternata have been identified in citrus samples. However, major incidence was recorded for Aspergillus niger (41.6%) followed by Fusarium oxysporum (27.7%). Infected samples (5.9) had high pH as compared to the healthy samples (3.1). Total soluble solids were decreased from 14 to 8.5% due to fungal infection. Whilst, the infected samples had increased sugar to acidity ratio. The correlation coefficient (r) has also confirmed the influence of fungal disease on postharvest physiological disorders and organoleptic properties. The overall acceptability of citrus had strong relationships with pH (r = -0.95**), total soluble solids (r = 0.96**), Acidity (r = 0.93**) and sugar/acid ratio (r = -0.93**). Findings of the study would be suitable for addressing the incidence of identified pathogenic fungi. It will be useful to enhance quality and to extend shelf life of citrus for local as well as export oriented markets.

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