Papaya is a climacteric tropical fruit and is known to have a very
short postharvest life involving weight loss, rapid pulp softening,
and the presence of microbial growth (Gonzalez-Aguilar et al.,
2009). Under normal environmental conditions, it completes its
maturity in about a week. This period may be reduced because of
pre- and post-harvest factors that may manifest in the fruits alone
or together, providing quantitative and qualitative losses at different
stages of marketing (Costa & Balbino, 2002). Because it is so
highly perishable, about 30% of production is compromised (Kaur
et al., 1997)