Effect of gamma irradiation and chitosan coating treatment on changes in the quality of salak pondoh (Salacca zalacca)

Zallaca (snake fruit) is a native Indonesian fruit that has increased demand from within and outside the country so that it has good prospects for development. Indonesian fruit export constraints are the pests attack zalacca, especially fruit flies and it has a short shelf life. To control pests, gamma irradiation can be used for phytosanitary treatment. With high penetrating power, gamma irradiation treatment can kill insects that are present in the flesh / seeds of the fruit. chitosan coating can extend the shelf life of the fruit. The combination of treatments both gamma irradiation treatment for phytosanitary treatment and chitosan coating to extend shelf life can improve fruit quality. In this study, using gamma irradiation at doses of 200, 400, and 600 Gy and chitosan coating at a concentration level of 0.25% and 0.50% with a completely randomized design. The purpose of this study was to determine changes in the quality of salak fruit due to a combination of treatment both gamma irradiation treatment and fruit coating with chitosan. The parameters observed were weight loss, hardness, pH, TPT, total acid, and ascorbic acid levels. The test results showed no significant difference between the changes in quality between untreated (control) zalacca and those treated with irradiation and chitosan coating for all parameters except for pH parameters, which indicated a significant difference between control zalacca and zalacca fruit with chitosan coating.