Gamage, P.G.N.C.Ranawana, S.R.W.M.C.J.K.Sarananda, K.H.Senarathne, S.M.A.C.V.2021-05-202021-05-20201122359877http://www.erepo.lib.uwu.ac.lk/bitstream/handle/123456789/6801/159-2011-Effect%20of%20Stage%20of%20Maturity%20at%20Harvest%20and%20Artificial.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=yPapaya (Carica papaya L.) is one of the major fruit crop cultivated in tropical and sub-tropical zones. Over 10.48 million tonnes of fruits were produced in 2009 on about 420,279ha (FAO, 2009) worldwide. It is consumed as a table fruit in both fresh and processed forms and cultivated mainly for its nutritive value (Singh, 1990). Tropical fruits are highly perishable and need to be handled with extreme care from the time they are harvested until they reach the consumer. A considerable quantity of production is lost in the postharvest phase. According to the Department of Agriculture, the highest percentage of postharvest loss is found in papaya (46 %) compared to banana and pineapple (20-30 %). Many of the indigenous as well as introduced varieties of papaya fruits are subjected to the post-harvest losses due to a range of disease causing agents such as Fusarium moniliforme,Lasiodiplodia theobroniae, Photnopsis caricae-papayae, and Colletotrichumgloeosporioides. Red Lady is an introduced variety to Sri Lanka from Taiwan. Harvesting, handling and transporting of papaya are very difficult since it is having an easily damageable soft skin. Many people harvest papaya at the immature stage to avoid these physiological damages but those fruits do not ripe correctly and give off flavours. The peel colour and flesh colour also do not develop well and skin gets damaged due to high latex exudation in immature fruits during harvesting. Those damages cause negative consumer preference in the market place. Uneven ripening causes poor quality peel colour and flesh colour in Red Lady papaya. Dark yellow peel colour and the thick red colour flesh in ripe fruits attract the consumer (Sarananda and Wijesundara, 2009). Papaya is oftenharvested at a mature but unripe condition, and is subsequently allowed to ripen further. Under natural conditions, they ripe slowly, lead to weight loss, desiccation and uneven ripening. Thus, fruit ripening is a very important process in order to get good quality ripened fruits for the consumption. This study was conducted to select the best harvesting stage for artificial ripening using Ethrel ((2-chloroethylphosphonic acid), effect of artificial ripening on postharvest quality considering the peel and flesh colour and disease severity of the red lady papaya to minimize the post-harvest losses.enExport AgricultureFood TechnologyFood ScienceCrop Production TechnologyOther