Reduction of Microbial Flora to Prolong the Shelf Life of Cucumis Sativus Through Gamma Irradiation

Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) belongs to family of cucurbitaceae. It is an economically important vegetable crop cultivated almost 80 countries with more than 66 million production annually. The current study involves the use of gamma radiation to enhance the shelf life of cucumber. For this purpose, cucumber was subjected to Co-60 gamma irradiation at different doses 1, 1.5 and 2 kGy. Microbial and sensory analysis was carried out for all the treatments. 1kGy dose was ineffective in reducing microbial population while at 2kGy organoleptic attributes were severely affected. Irradiation of 1.5 kGy was found to be the most effective dose at which both microbiological and sensory attributes remained within acceptable limit. Thus, shelf-life of cucumber was extended upto 5 days at 1.5 kGy dose.