Effect of time of harvesting and post-harvest treatments on physical characteristics of sap burn damage of mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Dashehari in Telangana state

The present investigation on the "Studies on the Effect of Time of Harvesting and Post-Harvest Treatments on Physical Characteristics of Sap Burn Damage of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) cv. Dashehari in Telangana State" was conducted at the Centre of Excellence in Mulugu, Siddipet district, during the summer- 2024. This experiment laid in a Factorial Completely Randomized Design with two main factors: Harvesting time (Morning, Afternoon and Evening) and Post-harvest treatments (Lime, Alum, Baking soda, Garlic and Aloe vera Extracts), resulting in eighteen treatment combinations, each replicated thrice. Results indicated that morning-harvested fruits recorded the highest sap content (1.65 ml). All treatments display zero sap burn injuries, except for the control (non-treated) afternoon harvest (H₂P₆), which exhibited a significant injury score of 3.71 showing the highest severity at 72 hours. Fruit firmness and shelf life, the combination of morning harvest with Aloe vera extract @ 1% (H1P5) showed the highest firmness (3.50 kg/cm²) and longest shelf life (13.67 days). H1P5 (Aloe vera extract @ 1%) consistently displayed the least spoilage on the 9th (33.33%), 12^th DAH (73.33%) and exhibited the highest marketability (26.67%) by the 12th DAH across all harvesting times.