Table 3.

Effect of packaging materials and storage environment on the firmness (kg cm⁻²) of papaya fruit during 9 days of storage period

Treatments	Storage periods (days)
	3	6	9
Packaging (A)
High density polyethylene	9.0a	3.5 a	1.4
Low density polyethylene	8.1b	3.0b	1.2
News paper	6.4c	2.6 c	–
Banana leaf	6.4c	2.2d	–
Control	5.9c	1.7e	–
SE	0.2	0.1	0.1
LSD (5%)	0.6	0.3	Ns
Storage (B)
Evaporative cooler	7.9a	3.1a	1.3
Ambient condition	6.5b	2.1b	–
SE	0.10	0.10	0.10
LSD (5%)	0.40	0.20	–
CV (%)	6.94	8.70	9.2
Significance
A	***	***	NS
B	***	***	–
AxB	Ns	**	–

(n = 3)

Initial (0 day) firmness was 9.864 kg cm⁻² and the data from day 9 onwards is meant for the EC storage only. NS, **, *** indicate non-significant or significant difference at p ≤ 0.01 or 0.001, respectively; different letters in a column indicate significant differences at P = 0.001.