AIM: Peaches are very perishable and have short shelf life, and both traders and buyers would like it to be longer. Aim of the study was to assess if application of the compound treatment effectively prolongs the quality attributes and extends the shelf-life of peaches. METHODS: Peach fruits were treated with coating opuntia mucilage-rosemary oil (Mu + RO), 2 g rosemary oil microencapsul (ROM) and (Mu + RO) plus 2 g (ROM); placed into PE film packaging and then stored at 1 oC. Changes in the quality parameters and activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and peroxidase (POD) enzymes were evaluated in 9 days intervals for 36 days of storage period. RESULTS: All treatments retarded loss of ascorbic acid and the drop in sensory acceptability, decreasing activities of SOD and POD enzymes. These also inhibited the decay incidence. CONCLUSION: The (Mu + RO) treatment was more effective in controlling postharvest quality as compared to the (ROM) treatment, but the data reveal that applying the compound treatment effectively prolongs the quality attributes and extends the shelf life of peach fruit.
