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Acharya N G Ranga Agricultural University, Guntur

The Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University (APAU) was established on 12th June 1964 at Hyderabad. The University was formally inaugurated on 20th March 1965 by Late Shri. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Hon`ble Prime Minister of India. Another significant milestone was the inauguration of the building programme of the university by Late Smt. Indira Gandhi,the then Hon`ble Prime Minister of India on 23rd June 1966. The University was renamed as Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University on 7th November 1996 in honour and memory of an outstanding parliamentarian Acharya Nayukulu Gogineni Ranga, who rendered remarkable selfless service for the cause of farmers and is regarded as an outstanding educationist, kisan leader and freedom fighter. HISTORICAL MILESTONE Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University (ANGRAU) was established under the name of Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University (APAU) on the 12th of June 1964 through the APAU Act 1963. Later, it was renamed as Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University on the 7th of November, 1996 in honour and memory of the noted Parliamentarian and Kisan Leader, Acharya N. G. Ranga. At the verge of completion of Golden Jubilee Year of the ANGRAU, it has given birth to a new State Agricultural University namely Prof. Jayashankar Telangana State Agricultural University with the bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh as per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014. The ANGRAU at LAM, Guntur is serving the students and the farmers of 13 districts of new State of Andhra Pradesh with renewed interest and dedication. Genesis of ANGRAU in service of the farmers 1926: The Royal Commission emphasized the need for a strong research base for agricultural development in the country... 1949: The Radhakrishnan Commission (1949) on University Education led to the establishment of Rural Universities for the overall development of agriculture and rural life in the country... 1955: First Joint Indo-American Team studied the status and future needs of agricultural education in the country... 1960: Second Joint Indo-American Team (1960) headed by Dr. M. S. Randhawa, the then Vice-President of Indian Council of Agricultural Research recommended specifically the establishment of Farm Universities and spelt out the basic objectives of these Universities as Institutional Autonomy, inclusion of Agriculture, Veterinary / Animal Husbandry and Home Science, Integration of Teaching, Research and Extension... 1963: The Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University (APAU) Act enacted... June 12th 1964: Andhra Pradesh Agricultural University (APAU) was established at Hyderabad with Shri. O. Pulla Reddi, I.C.S. (Retired) was the first founder Vice-Chancellor of the University... June 1964: Re-affilitation of Colleges of Agriculture and Veterinary Science, Hyderabad (estt. in 1961, affiliated to Osmania University), Agricultural College, Bapatla (estt. in 1945, affiliated to Andhra University), Sri Venkateswara Agricultural College, Tirupati and Andhra Veterinary College, Tirupati (estt. in 1961, affiliated to Sri Venkateswara University)... 20th March 1965: Formal inauguration of APAU by Late Shri. Lal Bahadur Shastri, the then Hon`ble Prime Minister of India... 1964-66: The report of the Second National Education Commission headed by Dr. D.S. Kothari, Chairman of the University Grants Commission stressed the need for establishing at least one Agricultural University in each Indian State... 23, June 1966: Inauguration of the Administrative building of the university by Late Smt. Indira Gandhi, the then Hon`ble Prime Minister of India... July, 1966: Transfer of 41 Agricultural Research Stations, functioning under the Department of Agriculture... May, 1967: Transfer of Four Research Stations of the Animal Husbandry Department... 7th November 1996: Renaming of University as Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University in honour and memory of an outstanding parliamentarian Acharya Nayukulu Gogineni Ranga... 15th July 2005: Establishment of Sri Venkateswara Veterinary University (SVVU) bifurcating ANGRAU by Act 18 of 2005... 26th June 2007: Establishment of Andhra Pradesh Horticultural University (APHU) bifurcating ANGRAU by the Act 30 of 2007... 2nd June 2014 As per the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act 2014, ANGRAU is now... serving the students and the farmers of 13 districts of new State of Andhra Pradesh with renewed interest and dedication...

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Subject: Agricultural Engineering × End date: 2023 × Start date: 2022 × Type: Thesis ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DEVELOPMENT OF OHMIC HEAT-ASSISTED VACUUM EVAPORATION SYSTEM FOR SELECTED FRUIT JUICES
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-06-30) VASUDEVA RAO, V.; PRASAD, B.V.S.
    India is the second largest producer of fruits and vegetables in the world after China. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of fruits in India. Ample raw fruit produce is available for short period; glut situation prevails during the season, bringing lower remunerative prices to the farmers, which mostly goes waste due to lack of processed facilities available. Currently, less than 3% of the fruits and vegetables are being processing in India. On the other hand, the post-harvest losses of fruits and vegetables are more than 30-40%. Guava (Psidium guajava L.), sapodilla (Achras zapota) and sweet orange (Citrus sinensis (L. Osbeck)) have excellent flavour, nutritive and therapeutic values. Currently, most of the food industries use conventional heat treatment processes which have some drawbacks such as high temperature, loss of nutritional value and sensory changes. In the production of fruit juice concentrates, vacuum evaporation is generally used to remove the moisture content. However, vacuum evaporation is a time-consuming process, because of slow heat transfer under vacuum. Ohmic heating is one of the alternative technologies that can remove moisture at a faster rate. Many researchers worked on the ohmic heating of fruit juices, but, only a few works are available on combining ohmic heating and vacuum evaporation. Keeping the above points in view, the present study was undertaken to develop ohmic heat-assisted vacuum evaporation system for guava, sapodilla and sweet orange juices for the rapid evaporation of moisture for concentration of juices and to better preserve their beneficial attributes. Laboratory-scale ohmic heat-assisted vacuum evaporation (OHVE) system with data logging feature was developed to concentrate the guava, sapodilla and sweet orange juices. Owing to the presence of colloidal suspension in guava and sapodilla pulp, they were treated enzymatically for clarification. Guava juice was clarified by treating the pulp with 700 ppm of pectinase enzyme at a temperature of 45 ℃ for 120 min with continuous agitation at 1500 rpm and, then, treated with fining agent gelatin (300 ppm) at 40 ℃ for 30 min. For sapodilla juice, enzymatic clarification was optimized by response surface methodology, and maximum juice yield of 96.9% was obtained at the optimum treatment conditions of 0.1% enzyme concentration, incubation time of 40 min, and temperature of 30 °C. In case of sweet orange juice clarification, extracted sweet orange pulp was pre-filtration with four-fold muslin cloth and treated with 300 ppm gelatine at 40 ℃ for 30 min. Concentration of all the fruit juices was carried out in OHVE system at a constant vacuum gauge pressure of 600±2 mm Hg and three levels of voltage gradient (9, 12, 15 V/cm) and temperature (50, 60 and 70 °C) to know the effect of voltage gradient on rate of heating during OHVE. It was found that the shortest heat-up time was 238.67±3.06 s for guava juice, followed by sapodilla (298.00±2.00 s) and sweet orange juice (154.67±3.06 s) observed for 15 V/cm and 70 °C. OHVE process parameters of temperature (50-70 ºC), holding time (40-120 min), voltage gradient (9-15 V/cm) and vacuum pressure (400-600 mm Hg) were optimized based on maximization of TSS. Maximum TSS (81.35, 68.27 and 69.36 ºBrix, respectively, for guava, sapodilla and sweet orange juice) was obtained at voltage gradient of 14.97, 14.54 and 14.46 V/cm, temperature of 69.74, 69.95 and 69.39 ºC, hold time of 118.37, 118.30 and 119.74 min and vacuum gauge pressure of 548.57, 573.97 and 568.50 mm Hg, respectively. Electrical conductivity of guava juice varied from 0.912 to 3.687 S/m, for sapodilla juice 0.372 to 0.427 S/m at 70 ºC and for sweet orange varied from 0.496 to 0.901 S/m at 50 ºC, 0.627 to 1.146 S/m at 60 ºC and 1.289 to 16.846 S/m at 70 ºC. The change of moisture ratio during OHVE process with time at different temperatures was modelled using different thin layer drying empirical models, namely, Lewis (Newton) model, Henderson and Pabis model, Linear model, Logarithmic model, Midilli model, Page model, Wang and Singh model and Diffusion model and found that this Page model fitted best for guava juice concentration and Wang and Singh model for sapodilla. In the case of sweet orange juice concentration, five models, i.e., Lewis, Page, Midilli, Henderson and Pabis and Diffusion models best fitted. Whereas, for rotary vacuum evaporation (VE), Midilli model was found best with maximum R2, least RMSE and, least reduced-χ2 value. Total energy demand for OHVE process increased with an increase in process time and varied from 1172.66 to 3850.91 kJ, 915.05 to 3230.91 kJ and 933.78 to 2419.26 kJ for guava, sapodilla and sweet orange juice, respectively, and it was higher than VE. Energy efficiency of OHVE process for process boundary (PB) varied between 66.05% and 23.84%, 87.85% and 50.12% and 64.73% and 17.93%, while it varied from 64.21% and 23.18%, 83.94% and 46.22% and 62.97% and 17.42% for system boundary (SB), for guava, sapodilla and sweet orange juice, respectively. Energy efficiency of OHVE was more compared to VE process. Exergy efficiency for PB during OHVE treating of guava, sapodilla and sweet orange juice concentration decreased from 90.12% to 46.42%, 96.49% to 55.93% and 80.72% to 12.68% and for SB from 85.78% to 34.59%, 90.91% to 36.49% and 77.63% to 10.49%, respectively. Lowest exergy destruction (Exdest) values were found for sapodilla juice concentration and highest Exdest values for sweet orange juice concentration. Evaluated the quality parameters like pH, density, ascorbic acid (AA), titratable acidity (TA), non-enzymatic browing index (NEBI), viscosity and colour during OHVE process of all the juices. Variation of pH for OHVE was lower than VE, the decline in AA was lower than VE, and whereas, NEBI and viscosity increased with an increase in time, but, lower than VE. OHVE and VE treated guava, sapodilla and sweet orange juice concentrates were stored at refrigerated (4 ºC) and ambient temperature and enumerated the total plate count (TPC), yeast and mould count for a storage period of 90 days and found that the OHVE treated all juice concentrates did not spoil at refrigerated storage up to 60 days of storage, whereas, VE treated juices got spoiled after 30 days of storage both at refrigerated and ambient temperature. Finally, it can be concluded that the combination of ohmic heating with vacuum could maintain food quality parameters. Keywords: Concentration; energy efficiency; enzymatic clarification; exergy destruction; mathematical modeling.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    OPTIMIZATION OF MICRO ENVIRONMENT FOR HIGH VALUE CROPS UNDER HYDROPONICS
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-06-28) SUDHA RANI, RATHNALA; Hema Kumar, H.V.
    Hydroponics culture is possibly the most intensive method of crop production in today’s agriculture industry. In combination with polyhouse or protective covers, it uses advanced technology and is capital intensive. It is highly productive, conserve water and land, and protect the environment. There has been increasing interest in the use of hydroponics or soilless techniques for producing greenhouse horticultural crops. The future growth of hydroponics depends greatly on the development of systems of production which are competitive in costs with system of open field agriculture. Present study was carried out for the optimization of micro environment for high value crops under hydroponics at Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, Bapatla during the year 2021-2022. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four main nutrient concentrations and four media as subplots each three replications. The transplanting of seedling of Basil was done in perforated net cups with media of rock wool, clay balls, perlite and vermiculite. For applying the water and nutrient solution in to the structure, the nutrient film technique system has been followed. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) is a method of cultivating hydroponic plants by utilizing thin and shallow water flowing through the roots of growing plants in the water layer, which contains nutrients, and it is circulated so that plants can get enough water, nutrients and oxygen. The thin film of water flows through channel with nutrient solution and the draining the solution back into the reservoir (tank). This action is normally done with a small capacity i.e., 0.1 hp submersible pump. The pH of the hydroponics solution was maintained in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 in the tank. Environmental parameters viz, temperature, relative humidity and CO2 are the major factors for plant growth and it was recorded throughout the experiment. The observations after transplantation of Basil were recorded in four seasons, in season1 (April to May), Season2 (August to September), Season3 (October to November) and Season4 (January to February). The data were analyzed in the MS excel with temperature Versus calender days, relative humidity versus calender days and carbon dioxide versus calender days. Polynomial equations were tried to fit for the pattern. The interactions between various independent variables and depended variable i.e., yield were tested using SPSS software. By overall, it could be seen that the yield is positively xx correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with relative humidity and carbon dioxide. Biometric parameters like plant height, no. of branches, no.of leaves, stem diameter and root length of basil plant were measured at regular intervals beginning at 10 DAT, 20 DAT and 30 DAT (days after transplantation). The measurement of the biometric parameters in four seasons, in season1 (April to May), Season2 (August to September), Season3 (October to November) and Season4 (January to February). The data was analysed in the SPSS software. It is also important to test the effect of different concentration and media on various biometric parameters so that it can be suggested the best suitable concentration and media for growing basil crop. But the data of 30 DAT was analyzed using the standard split plot design procedure. It was found that, there is a significant difference among the treatment combinations of nutrient concentration and media under split plot design. The crop was harvested two times at each season, the crop was weighed and noted down the weight of the crop. The highest yield was observed in season1 as 41.749 kg, followed in season2 as 40.5 kg, season3 as 38.9 kg and season4 as 36.2 kg. Among all the seasons lowest yield was observed in season4 as 36.183 kg. The total yield of basil is 157.3 kg. Design Expert-13 (split plot-multilevel categoric factor) was used for optimization of nutrient concentration and media. In season1, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm for media of vermiculite. In season2, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm for media of rock wool media. In season3, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm at media of rock wool media. In season4, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm at media of rock wool media. Finally for all the seasons, combine the optimization was carried out. The yield is negatively correlated with temperature, CO2 and positively correlated with relative humidity. This is because of the media rockwool performance might be different with temperature compared to other media. Economics of the hydroponics was done, Net return obtained from the basil crop grown under hydroponics was Rs 16720 and the Benefit-Cost ratio is 1.08. But for the total poly house, there is a capacity of 1600 net cups for 8 A frames. Further for effective utilization of polyhouse, 4 more A frames could be procured and operated. Then total basil yield would shoot up and the B:C ratio would definitely rise to probably more than 3.0. For these 12 A frames, 2400 net cups could be installed with a yield of 600 kg of basil with a net return of Rs. 4,21,970/-. This gives a payback period of approximately 3 years. Key words: Biometric parameters, Cost economics, Design Expert, Environmental parameters, NFT, Optimization and SPSS.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    OPTIMIZATION OF MICRO ENVIRONMENT FOR HIGH VALUE CROPS UNDER HYDROPONICS
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-06-01) SUDHA RANI, RATHNALA; Hema Kumar, H.V.
    Hydroponics culture is possibly the most intensive method of crop production in today’s agriculture industry. In combination with polyhouse or protective covers, it uses advanced technology and is capital intensive. It is highly productive, conserve water and land, and protect the environment. There has been increasing interest in the use of hydroponics or soilless techniques for producing greenhouse horticultural crops. The future growth of hydroponics depends greatly on the development of systems of production which are competitive in costs with system of open field agriculture. Present study was carried out for the optimization of micro environment for high value crops under hydroponics at Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, Bapatla during the year 2021-2022. The experiment was laid out in split plot design with four main nutrient concentrations and four media as subplots each three replications. The transplanting of seedling of Basil was done in perforated net cups with media of rock wool, clay balls, perlite and vermiculite. For applying the water and nutrient solution in to the structure, the nutrient film technique system has been followed. Nutrient Film Technique (NFT) is a method of cultivating hydroponic plants by utilizing thin and shallow water flowing through the roots of growing plants in the water layer, which contains nutrients, and it is circulated so that plants can get enough water, nutrients and oxygen. The thin film of water flows through channel with nutrient solution and the draining the solution back into the reservoir (tank). This action is normally done with a small capacity i.e., 0.1 hp submersible pump. The pH of the hydroponics solution was maintained in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 in the tank. Environmental parameters viz, temperature, relative humidity and CO2 are the major factors for plant growth and it was recorded throughout the experiment. The observations after transplantation of Basil were recorded in four seasons, in season1 (April to May), Season2 (August to September), Season3 (October to November) and Season4 (January to February). The data were analyzed in the MS excel with temperature Versus calender days, relative humidity versus calender days and carbon dioxide versus calender days. Polynomial equations were tried to fit for the pattern. The interactions between various independent variables and depended variable i.e., yield were tested using SPSS software. By overall, it could be seen that the yield is positively xx correlated with temperature and negatively correlated with relative humidity and carbon dioxide. Biometric parameters like plant height, no. of branches, no.of leaves, stem diameter and root length of basil plant were measured at regular intervals beginning at 10 DAT, 20 DAT and 30 DAT (days after transplantation). The measurement of the biometric parameters in four seasons, in season1 (April to May), Season2 (August to September), Season3 (October to November) and Season4 (January to February). The data was analysed in the SPSS software. It is also important to test the effect of different concentration and media on various biometric parameters so that it can be suggested the best suitable concentration and media for growing basil crop. But the data of 30 DAT was analyzed using the standard split plot design procedure. It was found that, there is a significant difference among the treatment combinations of nutrient concentration and media under split plot design. The crop was harvested two times at each season, the crop was weighed and noted down the weight of the crop. The highest yield was observed in season1 as 41.749 kg, followed in season2 as 40.5 kg, season3 as 38.9 kg and season4 as 36.2 kg. Among all the seasons lowest yield was observed in season4 as 36.183 kg. The total yield of basil is 157.3 kg. Design Expert-13 (split plot-multilevel categoric factor) was used for optimization of nutrient concentration and media. In season1, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm for media of vermiculite. In season2, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm for media of rock wool media. In season3, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm at media of rock wool media. In season4, Optimized results of yield revealed that the best yield could be obtained if the nutrient concentration was maintained at 1100 ppm at media of rock wool media. Finally for all the seasons, combine the optimization was carried out. The yield is negatively correlated with temperature, CO2 and positively correlated with relative humidity. This is because of the media rockwool performance might be different with temperature compared to other media. Economics of the hydroponics was done, Net return obtained from the basil crop grown under hydroponics was Rs 16720 and the Benefit-Cost ratio is 1.08. But for the total poly house, there is a capacity of 1600 net cups for 8 A frames. Further for effective utilization of polyhouse, 4 more A frames could be procured and operated. Then total basil yield would shoot up and the B:C ratio would definitely rise to probably more than 3.0. For these 12 A frames, 2400 net cups could be installed with a yield of 600 kg of basil with a net return of Rs. 4,21,970/-. This gives a payback period of approximately 3 years. Key words: Biometric parameters, Cost economics, Design Expert, Environmental parameters, NFT, Optimization and SPSS.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF CONTINUOUS OHMIC HEATING SYSTEM FOR STABILIZATION OF RICE BRAN
    (2023-05-31) GOWTHAMI, E.; SMITH, D. D.
    Rice (Oryza sativa L.) bran is an excellent source of many nutrients and inexpensive in nature where as it is underutilized by single restrictive factor which is lipid hydrolysis by lipase enzyme present in outer layers. The lipid hydrolysis results in rancidification. To get rid of this rancidification problem, ohmic stabilization method is used for lipase inactivation with moisture addition. To preserve the rice bran without rancidification, better quality control and increase the oil extraction capacity for extendable period, the study was carried out on ohmic stabilization of rice bran. Engineering properties (physico-thermal, frictional and electrical properties) of rice bran were determined at seven moisture contents (9.4, 12.03, 15.08, 20.01, 25.04, 30.06 & 35.09% (w.b.). The batch type ohmic system was optimized for process parameters using different moisture contents (25.04, 30.06 & 35.09%), different voltage gradients (58, 66 & 74 V/cm) with three levels of heating time (120, 210 & 300s). Optimization was done by CCRD, Design Expert 13.0 software for batch type ohmic heating system. Based on the optimized condition, a prototype COHS was developed with 25.30 kg/h capacity and analyzed for quality of bran oil at different feed rates (7, 14 & 21 kg/h) and different residence times (5, 10 & 15 min) with constant voltage (222 V) and moisture content (35.09%). The bio chemical qualities of optimized ohmic stabilized treatment were compared with steam stabilized samples and control (raw bran) for 90 days of storage period at an interval of 10 days. Optimization of COHS was done with different quality parameters by CCRD to know the effectiveness of machine. Significant (P<0.05) increase was observed for angle of repose (23.75º to 56.97º), coefficient of static friction, thermal conductivity (5.051×10-2 to 25.64×10-2 W m-1 K-1), specific heat (0.343 kcal/kg K to 0.806 kcal/kg K), thermal diffusivity (4.24×10-4 to 5.97×10-4 m2/s), bulk density (298.5 kg/m3-458.1 kg/m3), capacitance (1.01-2.67 nF), electrical conductivity (0.0045 to 0.01957 S/m) whereas resistance (21.23 to 4.88 kΩ) values significantly (P<0.05) decreased with different moisture contents i.e., from 9.4 -35.09% (w.b.). High coefficient of friction was observed for mild steel (0.687–1.184), followed by glass (0.603–1.091), fibre (0.536–0.975) and the lowest for wood surface (0.328–0.812) in the range of 9.4 to 35.09 %. xvi Maximum FFA (98.3%), peroxide value (100.25 meq/kg), TBA (0.153 mg MDA/kg) and minimum protein content (11.6%), oil yield (11.13%) and oil extractability (79.8%) were observed in control samples where as minimum values of 3.52% FFA, 7.12 meq/kg PV, 0.072 mg MDA/kg TBA and maximum values of protein content (15.05%), oil yield (15.26%) and oil extractability (97.17%) were observed in ohmic stabilized bran samples at the end of 90 days of storage period. The steam stabilized bran samples of FFA, PV, TBA, protein content, oil yield and oil extractability values were observed as 4.61%, 9.12 meq/kg, 0.093 mg MDA/kg,12.84%, 14.28% & 93.05% respectively after 90 days of storage. From the bio chemical analysis, ohmic stabilization was found the best treatment among steam stabilization and control samples. The optimized solution was obtained at highest temperature (100oC), minimum FFA (1.5%) and minimum lipase activity (3.21 U/g) at highest voltage gradient (74 V/cm) and 35.09% moisture content with 120 s heating time in batch type ohmic stabilization. For COHS, the optimum solution of 105oC ohmic temperature, 1.42% FFA, 3.29 U/g lipase activity, 2.67 meq/kg peroxide value, 0.036 mg MDA/kg TBA,15.80% oil yield and 99.80% oil extractability was obtained at 21 kg/h feed rate and 15 min residence time. In conclusion, it may be stated that hydrated rice bran can be successfully stabilized by using both batch and continuous ohmic heating techniques and can be stored for long time within permissible limits of FFA, PV and TBA. Keywords: Rice bran, Ohmic heating, Stabilization, FFA, Lipase activity, Storage period.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    OSMOTIC DEHYDRATION OF POTATO SLICES COUPLED WITH ULTRASOUND, OHMIC HEATING AND PULSED ELECTRIC FIELD SYSTEMS
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-04-30) VINODA, N.; PRASAD, B.V.S.
    Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) from the Solanaceae family is a healthy, commercial food with wide applications worldwide. Potato is one of the most important agricultural products besides wheat, corn and rice. Under tropical and sub-tropical conditions, the losses due to poor handling and storage are reported to be in between 40-50 per cent. The qualitative losses greatly reduce the price of potatoes. Preservation of potato slices by hot air drying is an ancient process to reduce moisture content and increase the shelf-life and stability of food products. A major drawback of hot air drying is the quality deterioration of the products due to exposure to a high temperature for extended periods of time. Blanching and osmotic dehydration are some of the conventional approaches to reduce the qualitative changes during drying. Osmotic dehydration is a slow process and takes a long time. The most popular pre-treatment methods for accelerating the mass transfer during osmotic dehydration without causing adverse changes in the product are ultrasound and pulsed electric field (PEF) under non-thermal and ohmic heating under thermal treatment. These technologies can be used to improve drying rates, reduce energy demand and minimize thermal degradation. To date, there is no literature available on the effects of combined application of ultrasound, ohmic heating and pulsed electric field on the osmotic dehydration of potato slices. Hence, the present research was undertaken to investigate the effect of ultrasound, pulsed electric field and ohmic heating on the osmotic dehydration of potato slices individually and in combinations and also study the effect of osmotic pretreatments along with ultrasound, ohmic and pulsed electric fields on convective air drying characteristics of potato slices. Ohmic heating (OH) system consisted of a rectangular chamber of 1 L capacity with the inside dimensions of 180 mm length × 70 mm width × 90 mm height. Two holes of diameter 5 mm were made at middle on length sides of the chamber to fix the two electrodes. Length and width of the electrodes were 170 and 80 mm, respectively. The distance between both the electrodes was kept as 55 mm. The thickness of the electrodes was 1.5 mm. The treatment chamber was covered with an acrylic sheet having a dimension of 220 mm length × 100 mm width and at middle a circular hole of diameter 5 mm was made to insert consealed T-type thermocouple xxviii which was connected to the digital temperature controller-cum-indicator. Two types of pulsed electric field (PEF) generators of 30 and 20 kV were developed. 30 kV PEF generator was developed by using fly back transformer and 20 kV generator was developed by using rectifier circuit, high voltage generator circuit and voltage multiplier circuit. Experiments were carried out in Department of Processing and Food Engineering, Dr N.T.R. College of Agricultural Engineering, Bapatla. Blanched potato slices were subjected to different osmotic salt concentrations of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% for 15, 30, 45, 60 and 90 min at different solution temperatures of 30, 40, 50, 60, 70 °C and optimum osmotic dehydration (OD) conditions of 10% salt solution, 50 °C solution temperature and 90 min immersion time were obtained based on the highest amount of water loss. Different pretreatments such as ultrasound (US) treatment with different power levels (54.26, 75.44, 95.84 and 130.87 W) and treatment times (1, 5, 10, 15 min), ohmic heating with different voltage gradients (12.73, 25.46, 38.18 and 50.91 V/cm) and holding times (2, 4, 6, 8 min) and PEF treatment with different voltages (20 and 30 kV) and treatment times (10, 20, 30, 40 s) were imposed on potato slices and then subjected to osmotic dehydration at optimum conditions of 10% salt solution, 50 °C solution temperature and 90 min immersion time. After osmotic dehydration the slices were subjected to convective air drying at 65 °C air temperature and air velocity of 0.04 m/s. The optimum level of the pretreatment conditions were determined based on the quality of the dried slices. After osmotic dehydration, the potato slices were subjected to air drying at different temperatures (35, 45, 55, and 65 °C) and air velocities (0.0199, 0.0266, 0.0333 and 0.04 m/s) and the quality during the storage period was determined. Combinations of pretreatments were done at the optimum levels and dried at optimum drying air temperature (65 °C) and air velocity (0.04 m/s) and quality during the storage period of 90 days was determined. In ultrasonic pretreated potato slices after osmotic dehydration, lowest moisture content (298.60% (d.b.)) and solid gain (11.615%) and highest percentage of water loss (45.674%) and weight reduction (36.47%) were found for ultrasonic power level of 130.87 W and 15 min treatment time. In ohmic pretreated potato slices after osmotic dehydration, lowest moisture content (302.59% (d.b.)) and solid gain (12.833%) and highest percentage of water loss (44.897%) and weight reduction (32.065%) were found for voltage gradient of 50.91 V/cm and holding time of 8 min. In PEF pretreated potato slices after osmotic dehydration, lowest moisture content (273.80% d.b.) and solid gain (10.694%) and highest percentage of water loss (50.214%) and weight reduction (39.52%) were found for voltage of 30 kV and holding time of 40 s. Drying time of 420 min was observed in the US+OD dried samples treated at 130.87 W ultrasonic power for 15 min treatment time with lowest final moisture content of 5.66% (d.b.), 450 min in OH+OD dried samples treated at voltage gradient of 50.91 V/cm and 8 min with lowest moisture content of 6.039% (d.b.) and 450 min in PEF+OD dried treated samples for 30 kV and 40 s with final moisture content of 5.487% (d.b.). Highest drying rates of 12.88%/min, 12.89%/min and 12.62%/min were observed in US+OD (130.87 W for 15 min), OH+OD (50.91 V/cm for 8 min) and PEF+OD (40 kV for 40 s), respectively, compared to all other samples. Quality parameters such as lowest moisture content (5.66% d.b.), shrinkage (59.9%), hardness (5.42 N) and browning (0.054) and highest rehydration ratio (3.2), xxix bulk density (150.31 kg/m3), L* value (75.36), a* value (-0.197), b* value (13.35), carbohydrate content (58.33 g/100 g) and starch content (45.12 g/100 g) were observed in ultrasound pretreated osmo+air dried potato slices at ultrasonic power of 130.87 W and treatment time of 15 min. In ohmic pretreated osmo+air dried potato slices, lowest moisture content (6.04% d.b.), shrinkage (63.2%), hardness (5.42 N) and browning (0.052) and highest rehydration ratio (3.26), bulk density (150.41 kg/m3), L* value (69.85), a* value (-0.24), b* value (12.81), carbohydrate content (57.99 g/100 g) and starch content (44.20 g/100 g) were observed at voltage gradient of 50.91 V/cm and holding time of 8 min. In PEF pre-treated osmo+air dried potato slices, lowest moisture content (5.45%), shrinkage (61.49%), hardness (5.29 N) and browning (0.052) and highest rehydration ratio (3.27), bulk density (150.96 kg/m3), L* value (76.41), a* value (-0.17), b* value (13.41), carbohydrate content (60.376 g/100 g) and starch content (46.35 g/100 g) were observed for voltage 30 kV and treatment time of 40 s. Highest percentage of water loss in US+OH+PEF (52.39%), solid gain in OH+PEF (16.83%), weight reduction in PEF+US (39.45) and lowest moisture content in PEF+US+OH (261.42% (d.b.)) were observed after osmotic dehydration. At the end of storage period of 90 days, in all the combinations treated osmo+air dried samples, the better quality parameters of lowest moisture content (5.4% d.b.), bulk density (151.6 kg/m3), browning (0.056), total bacterial count (100 cfu/mL) and total mould count (100 cfu/mL) were observed in US+OH+PEF and highest rehydration ratio (3.24), L* value (76.35), a* value (-0.297) and b* value (13.06), carbohydrate content (54.92 g/100 g) and starch content (44.2 g/100 g) were observed in US+OH+PEF. Finally, it was concluded that the quality of the dried potatoes treated with the combinations of treatments such as US+OH, OH+PEF, PEF+US and PEF+OH+US were observed better at the end of the storage period of 90 days. Keywords: Drying rate, drying time, quality parameters, solid gain, storage period, water loss, weight reduction
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DEVELOPMENT OF COMPUTER VISION CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM FOR FRUITS
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-05-30) DILEEP SEAN, YEMINENI; SMITH, D.D.
    Agriculture is vital to our country's growth. Demand for quality fruits grows with our country's population. To increase the income of farmers classification of fruits based on maturity and defect is required. Traditionally classification is done manually which is time consuming and labor intensive. To remain competitive, farmers must only distribute high-quality fruits that requires accuracy, speed. A computer vision system is a cost-effective system and gives consistent performance, a superior speed and accurate sorting and grading of fruits. Hence, a computer vision system that can classify fruits and vegetables based on color and defects was proposed. Images are acquired and processed using high level languages like MATLAB. To make the system cheaper and more flexible, the proposed system will use low-cost cams that may not require frame grabber hardware. A working prototype hardware model of conveyor was developed with PC was designed and implemented to analyze the fruit quality. The fruit to be tested is placed on the circular slab and the USB camera captures and sent to the PC for classification. The QHM PC Camera features 6 white lights and has an image resolution of 25 megapixels. It has properties for adjusting image control, color saturation, brightness, sharpness and brightness. A round plastic circular slab was designed with 10 cm diameter and 4 cm height that performs the rotation and tilting operation. Open close gate was fabricated with a metal sheet of length 9 cm and width of 8 cm. Gate opens when the detected fruit is bad or immature and rejects the fruit from the conveyor. This door closes when the detected fruit is good or mature and travels along the conveyor. Actuating and control mechanism was developed which consists of Arduino, PIC and relay units. Arduino was used to transfer data between PC and PIC MCU. The Arduino is connected to the PIC microcontroller to send the signal information obtained from the PC. Crystal oscillators are connected to this PIC microcontroller to synchronize all the internal operations of the microcontroller. PIC is interfaced with LCD. A total of 5 relays are used and interfaced with PIC MCU. Signals are passed through the PIC to relay unit, the relay operates accordingly. The entire relay unit is operated on 12 V power supply. The machine learning algorithm is used for inspecting the fruit quality whether it is good or bad as well as mature or immature, five different types of fruits such as guava, lemon, orange, apple and pomegranate have been taken for analyzing the quality. xviii In terms of color and defective five machine learning classifiers used such as KNN, DT, RF, ANN and SVM. The wavelet transform was used for feature extraction for fruits. All the algorithm's performance such as confusion matrix, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, f1-score, and AUC values were calculated for all five fruits and those values were plotted. The best algorithm has been selected based on the performance and use for day 1, day 3 and day 5 storage analysis. Based on the performance SVM was found to outperform all the classifiers. Hence, SVM was used to evaluate its classification efficiency with storage conditions. The results indicated that SVM classified better on all days of storage without any misclassification. The response time of the system is 60 seconds which is low compared to other systems. It could be concluded that developed system is very suitable and useful for small-scale industries and farmers to grow up their businesses. Key Words: Computer vision, SVM, ANN, Random Forest, Decision Tree, KNN
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND PERFORMANCE OF A TRACTOR OPERATED ELECTROSTATIC BOOM SPRAYER
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-05-30) KRISHNA KANTH, Er. BODASINGI; RAMANA, C.
    Plant protection measures have an obvious role to play in meeting the growing demand for food quality and quantity. In order to prevent the crop from various insect, pest and diseases various crop protection equipment are in use. The enormous wastage of chemicals and the ensuing environmental pollution, owning to off-target deposition of conventionally applied pesticides, could be brought down by the use of charged sprays. Hence, this investigation was undertaken with an objective of developing and evaluating an electrostatic induction charging system suitable for a tractor operated boom sprayer. A experimental system comprising of reliable charging nozzle, a high voltage power supply and other related circuits and accessories was developed. The capability of the system in charging fluids at different voltage levels was assessed using precise instrumentation with a computerized dynamic data acquisition system. The spray nozzle was characterized based on droplet size and relative span. The smallest droplet size was produced by a hollow cone nozzle 130 μm at 5 kPa and 1.0 mm2 orifice size. Smallest relative span value of the nozzles were 0.89, 1.09, and 1.17 for hollow cone, flat fan, and solid cone nozzles respectively. Full factorial design was employed for optimization. Based on the given criteria for optimization, hollow cone nozzle was selected for development of electrostatic induction nozzle. To investigate the effect of design and operational parameter, the investigation was conducted in two phases. In the first phase, using a Faraday cylinder test rig, 81 randomly replicated experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of flow rate (230, 450 and 630 ml min-1), voltage (2.0 kV, 4.0 kV and 6.0 kV) and distance of electrode from spray nozzle (0 mm,15 mm and 30 mm) on charge mass ratio. Response surface methodology (RSM) using full factorial design was employed for optimization. The optimization results revealed that electrode voltage (4 kV), flow rate (230 ml min-1) and distance of electrode from nozzle (15 mm) was suitable for design of induction nozzle. Based on optimized results, an electrostatic induction nozzle was developed. xv In the second phase, using an experimental electrostatic sprayer test rig, 54 randomly replicated experiments were conducted to assess the droplet deposition and droplet density of spray liquid at speed (1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 km h-1), height (0.50m, 0.75m and 1.00 m), and type of charge (charged and uncharged). The optimized results revealed that at operating speed 1.5 km h-1 and height of 0.5 m, charged spray increased the percentage of deposition on adaxial surface of artificial plant by 21.71 % as compared with uncharged spray. Similarly, on abaxial surface there no droplet deposition for uncharged spray. The developed pump driver cum high voltage generation circuit consists of soft switching circuit (to avoid damage to IC in the circuit from sudden current from battery) to operate pump driver circuit and high voltage generation circuit. Pump driver circuit controls current to pump with variable resister. The high voltage generation circuit contains a self-oscillating circuit step-up transformer (flyback transformer), and voltage multiplication circuit. Self-oscillating circuit induce the magnetic flux to primary coil of the transformer alternately. A required voltage of 4 kV was developed at end of the secondary coil of the transformer. Based on the study results, tractor operated electrostatic boom sprayer was developed. The tractor operated electrostatic boom sprayer was evaluated with an optimized operational parameters speed of 1.5 km/h and height of 0.50 m. The developed prototype electrostatic boom sprayer was tested for its spray charging efficiency of the electrostatic induction nozzle. The percentage reduction of spray current after 120 min operation was 5.2 % and mean spray current variation between nozzle was 2.32 %. The developed prototype electrostatic boom sprayer was tested in field to evaluate its biological efficacy in terms of percentage of reduction of pest. The results showed that percentage of reduction of pest by developed tractor operated electrostatic boom sprayer over normal boom sprayer was 18.60 %. Similarly for entire crop period 66.11% operation time was saved with developed prototype compared to the manual method and more importantly the spray man exposure to the toxic chemicals was eliminated. Key Words: Charge to mass ration, electrostatic spraying, induction charging, boom sprayer, high voltage generation circuit and electrostatic induction nozzle.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DESIGN AND DEVELOPMENT OF LOW-COST RIPENING CHAMBER FOR MANGO AND PAPAYA
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-05-26) LAVANYA, K.; BHASKARA RAO, D.
    Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is one of the most extensively exploited fruit because of its flavour, fragrance and juice content. Papaya (Carica papaya L.) is a very wholesome fruit, and it ranks second only to mango as a source of β carotene, the precursor of vitamin A. Mango and papaya fruits are vulnerable to post harvest losses due to their high perishable nature. Fruit ripening involves a series of physiological, biochemical and organoleptic changes that lead to the development of a soft, edible, ripe fruit with desirable quality. Ripening is one of the post harvest management practices which involve high initial investment and operational cost. In order to meet the farmer’s requirement there is a need to develop ripening facilities at farmer’s level and it is essential to optimize the ripening parameters. Using ripening agents like ethylene and ethephon can accelerate fruit ripening when needed. This brings more advantages for distribution to distant markets. Hence, a low-cost ripening chamber was designed and fabricated to ripen the fruits in the present investigation. The design consists of a single-stage vapor-compression system having four components namely compressor, condenser, expansion valve and evaporator. Theoretical cooling load required for development of 3 tons capacity was 2 TR. To achieve desired cooling in ripening chamber, the required capacities of compressor, condenser and chilling tank were 5, 6 and 0.5 hp, respectively. The present design dimensions of ripening chamber are 12 × 10 × 12 ft. Polyurethane Foam was selected as insulating material to reduce heat loss. A chilling tank was also introduced in the design to maintain long cooling times in the ripening chamber which resulted in low running time of compressor thereby reducing the power consumption. The experiment has been carried out in Department of Processing and Food Engineering, Dr. NTR College of Agricultural Engineering, Bapatla. Mango (Neelum variety) and Papaya (Red Lady variety) fruits were treated with different concentrations of ethylene (60, 80, 100 & 120 ppm) for 3 minutes and ethephon (250, 500, 750 and 1000 ppm) at different temperatures such as 16, 20, 24 and 28 °C for 5 minutes with different levels of relative humidity of 80, 85, 90 and 95%. Untreated xx fruits were kept at ambient temperature (25-35 °C). The ripened fruits were analyzed for physico-chemical changes such as TSS, TA, WL, pH, Firmness, Reducing sugars, Ascorbic acid and Colour. All the observations on physico-chemical parameters were recorded at an interval of two days till the fruits were ripened. In mango fruits, it was observed that the maximum fruit firmness (7.09 N) was observed in control sample against the ripening duration of 12 days while minimum firmness in fruits treated with ethylene (1.72 N) and ethephon (2.18 N) for the ripening period of 8 days. In ethylene treated samples, maximum TSS observed was 22.67 °Brix whereas in ethephon treated samples, maximum TSS observed was 20.19 °Brix. The minimum L* value (49.43) was observed in control sample and maximum L* value in fruits treated with ethylene (64.02) and ethephon (56.02) during ripening period of 8 days. The minimum a* value (16.37) was observed in control sample and maximum a* value in fruits treated with ethylene (27.04) and ethephon (25.12). The minimum b* value (39.21) was observed in control sample and maximum b* value in fruits treated with ethylene (57.04) and ethephon (55.69) during ripening period of 8 days. In papaya fruits, it was observed that the maximum fruit firmness (6.11 N) was observed in control sample against ripening duration of 14 days while minimum firmness in fruits treated with ethylene (4.58 N) and ethephon (4.34 N) for the ripening duration of 8 days. The maximum TSS was observed in fruits treated with ethylene (20.67 °Brix) and ethephon (19.14 °Brix) concentrations and minimum TSS in control sample (12.11 °Brix). The minimum L* value (50.32) was observed in control sample and maximum L* value in fruits treated with ethylene (59.71) and ethephon (57.19) during ripening period of 8 days. The minimum a* value (18.34) was observed in control sample and maximum a* value in fruits treated with ethylene (24.39) and ethephon (25.42). The minimum b* value (37.15) was observed in control sample and maximum b* value in fruits treated with ethylene (43.24) and ethephon (44.71) during ripening period of 8 days. Performance evaluation of ripening chamber revealed the optimum operating conditions for mango fruits treated with ethylene and ethephon as; 95% RH, 20 °C temperature, ethylene concentration of 100 ppm, ripening period of 4 days; and 95% RH, 24 °C temperature, ethephon concentration of 750 ppm, ripening period of 6 days respectively. The optimum operating conditions for papaya fruits treated with ethylene and ethephon were 90% RH, 24 °C temperature, ethylene concentration of 100 ppm, ripening period 6 days; and 90% RH, 24 °C temperature, ethephon concentration of 750 ppm, ripening period of 8 days respectively. In mangoes, fruits treated with ethylene at 100 ppm, 20 °C at 95% RH recorded highest score for overall acceptability (8.61) during the ripening period of 4 days. Fruits treated with ethephon at 750 ppm, 24 °C at 95% RH recorded highest score for overall acceptability (8.69) during the ripening period of 6 days. In papaya, fruits treated with ethylene at 100 ppm, 24 °C at 90% RH recorded highest score for overall acceptability (8.65) during the ripening period of 6 days. Fruits treated with ethephon at 750 ppm, 24 °C at 90% RH recorded highest score for overall acceptability (8.69) during the ripening period of 8 days. By using ANSYS-CFD simulation, the optimal temperature conditions of both mango and papaya were checked for different air flow combinations in the ripening chamber, where the temperature stabilized for air velocity of 0.5 m/s. For the present designed ripening chamber, it was found that power consumption was less (12.3 kWh/day) than that of the commercial ripening chamber xxi (20.1 kWh/day). Benefit cost ratio for developed ripening chamber with a chilling tank was found to be 1.05. Hence, the designed ripening chamber is economically viable. Keywords: ripening chamber, temperature, RH, ethylene, ethephon, ripening period, physico-chemical changes, CFD, cost economics.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    GREEN SYNTHESIS OF ZnO NANO-PARTICLES FROM JAMUN (Syzygium cumini) SEEDS FOR SHELF LIFE ENHANCEMENT OF SAPOTA FRUIT
    (ACHARYA NG RANGA AGRICULTURAL UNIVERSITY, 2023-05-23) SNEHA, GOUDAR; VISHNU VARDHAN, S.
    Sapota (Manilkara zapota) is a tropical fruit originated in Central America and Mexico and belong’s to the family Sapotaceae holds fifth rank in both production and consumption in India. It is a climacteric fruit which requires ethylene to ripen due to which it gets ripens within 3-5 days after harvest. Sapota fruit contains various important nutrients which has certain health benefits. Being a climacteric fruit and has a less post harvest life which results in high production of ethylene, rate of respiration and reduction in weight leads to deterioration in the fruit quality. Edible nano particle coating is an eco friendly technique by overcoming degradation and used to increase the shelf life of fruits by creating semi-permeable barrier around the food surface and maintains the nutritive value within fruit. The quality parameters of sapota fruits viz., physiological weight loss (PWL), pH, total soluble solids (TSS), reducing sugars (%), titrable acidity (%), firmness (N), phenols (mg/100g), colour value (L*, a* and b*) and microbial load (cfu/mL) were studied during initial day were 0.00, 5.77±0.16, 13.51±0.13, 6±0.1, 0.37±0.02, 4.04±0.05, 133.87±1.59, (64.71±0.41, 7.01±0.08 and 25.10±0.18) and 0.6±0.06 × 104 respectively on initial day. Shelf life of sapota fruit was 6 days in ambient and 12 days in cold storage condition. Alkaloid, flavanoid, saponins, carbohydrate, fat, essential oil, phenols and tannins are the major chemical constituents of the extracts obtained from jamun seed. Glycosides, phytosterols, proteins and amino acids shows negative result for the test. The amount of alkaloids, carbhohydrates, oils, fat, flavonoids, saponins, tannins and phenols are 12.80±1.73, 32.94±2.16, 7.10±0.79, 1.80±0.16, 26.40±2.36, 3.27±0.25, 4.6±0.97 and 70.6±2.92, respectively. Zetasizer analysis showed that, the average size of the biosynthesized zinc oxide nanoparticles was 37.77 nm and its zeta potential was found to be -24.00 mV, respectively. UV-Visible spectrophotometer showed SPR band of biosynthesized ZnO xviii NP’s @ 368.00 nm. The morphology analysis using SEM revealed that, the biosynthesized ZnO NP’s was in spherical shape and elemental composition was 42.47% for Zn and 28.66% for O. XRD study confirmed that, the resultant nanoparticles were hexagonal wurtzite in nature and intensity of peak reflected high degree of crystallinity. The AFM results revealed that, height and width of the arbitrarily selected standard ZnO NP’s was 0.15 and 1.7 μm. Major peak (3765.05 cm-1) and minor peak (547.78 cm-1) as a surface adsorption of functional group of zinc oxide nanoparticles. Antimicrobial activity of zinc oxide nanoparticles shows good efficacy against all the microorganisms such as Bacillus cereus (28 mm) shows highest inhibition compared with the acetic acid bacteria -2 (26 mm) and fallowed by acetic acid bacteria -1 (24 mm) for bacteria, Mucor (21 mm) shows highest zone of inhibition fallowed by Geotrichum candidum (17 mm) and Aspergillus niger (15 mm) for fungus and Brettanomyces custersii (18 mm) shows highest zone of inhibition fallowed by Pichia anomala (15 mm) and Candida albicana (15 mm) having equal inhibition for mold/yeast in T4 @ 200 ppm. Effect of zinc oxide nanoparticles on shelf life and quality parameters of sapota were recorded at ambient as well as in cold storage condition. Among all the treatments, ZnO NP’s of 150 ppm concentration was better in maintaining various parameters like physiological weight loss, pH, total soluble solids (TSS), reducing sugars, titrable acidity, firmness, phenols, colour value (L*, a* and b*) and microbial load. It was also observed that @ 50 and 200 ppm biosynthesized ZnO NP’s had decreasing effect on quality parameters. Hence, among all concentrations, 150 ppm was considered optimum in maintaining the quality parameters of sapota over a period of time (12 and 21 days) both in ambient and cold storage condition. Hence the shelf life of zinc oxide nanoparticles coated sapota fruits was doubled i.e., 12 and 21 days for ambient and cold storage condition, respectively. Keywords: Anti-microbial study, Physio-chemical properties, Sapota fruits, Shelf life enhancement and Zinc oxide nanoparticles