The fruit firmness at harvest was maximum
(18 lb force) and it gradually declined as the period of storage
advanced, but this rate of decrease in firmness was significantly
slowed down by calcium treatment (Table 1). The fruit firmness
was under all calcium treatments consistently higher than the
control during entire storage period. The pear fruits treated with
4 per cent calcium chloride retained as much firmness (14 lb force)
after 75 days of storage as retained by control fruits after 45 days
of storage. Hence there was a gain of 30 days of extended storage
life with 4 per cent calcium chloride application. The pear fruits
attained best eating quality at 12-14 lbs force pressure and if it