Combination of gamma irradiation and storage condition for improving mechanical and physical postharvest characteristics of fresh garlic cloves.

The aim of this study was the discrimination and optimization of irradiation effect under physical and mechanical experiments on garlic. The samples were irradiated with 0, 75, and 150 Gy doses and stored at 4 and 18°C for 5 months. Physical, mechanical, and color properties were measured in the period of storage. Based on the results, all irradiated garlic samples had less quality variation than control samples. Response surface methodology (RSM) optimized dose, storage time, and temperature of the stored garlic which was 75 Gy, 2 months, and 17°C, respectively. In addition, after finding the optimal dose, time, and temperature, the most effective factor as weight loss was obtained and the data were classified by the principal component analysis (PCA) approach. The results showed that the PCA method had a high ability to classify and separate the data obtained from measuring the physicochemical properties of garlic and cover 99% variance of data. Moreover, partial least square (PLS) was applied for predicting weight loss data with R2 0.9999. As well, a mechanical test was investigated for finding the best situation and duration of storage condition. Finally, irradiation prevented the destruction of garlic and saved garlic in the best quality as compared with control or nonirradiated samples. After all this, it can be decided to keep garlic in warehouses and transfer this product with minimum damage.