Tomatoes at breaker and pink stage maturities were coated with chitosan film. The
effect of chitosan as preservative coating on postharvest storage of tomatoes were
investigated using 2 types of chitosan: high molecular weight chitosan (1.3kDa, DD:
89±0.3%) and low molecular weight chitosan (0.3kDa, DD: 91±0.8%) at different
concentrations (0; 0.5; 1.0; 1.5% w/v). Color, weight and firmness changes and sensory
quality were compared with non-coated tomatoes during storage at 20°C and at room
temperature. Coating of tomatoes with chitosan delayed the ripening process as
performed in reduction of weight loss and color change. In addition, chitosan coated
tomatoes were firmer than the control samples during storage. The influence of
molecular weight of chitosan (HW vs. LW) on quality of tomatoes was significant.