Postharvest Shelf Life of Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum)

Abstract

Shelf life (defined by visual quality) of freshly harvested greenhouse-grown sweet basil was maintained for an average of ≈ 12 days at 15C. Chilling injury symptoms were severe at storage temperatures of 5C and below. Shelf life was found to be only 1 and 3 days at 0 and 5C, respectively. Moderate chilling injury was noted at 7.5 and 10C. Harvesting sweet basil later in the day (i.e., 1800 or 2200 hr) increased shelf life by almost 100% when harvested shoots were held at 10, 15, and 20C, compared to harvesting at 0200 or 0600 hr. However, the time of day of harvest did not alter the development of visual chilling injury symptoms or improve shelf life at 0 or 5C.