Vol. 7, Issue 10, Part E (2025)

Blackgram (Vigna mungo L.) is an important pulse crop valued for its high protein content, nutritional quality, and wide use in traditional diets, especially in South Asia. However, its storage is highly prone to quality deterioration due to insect infestation, moisture migration, and microbial growth. Appropriate selection of packaging material plays a vital role in extending shelf life, preserving nutritional quality, and minimizing post-harvest losses. The present study evaluated the influence of different packaging materials namely High Density Polyethylene (HDPE), Jute bags, Low Density Polyethylene (LDPE), Biaxially Oriented Polypropylene (BoPP), and Polyethylene Terephthalate (PET) containers on the storage stability of black gram over 240 days under ambient conditions. Initial grain moisture content was uniform (9.55% w.b), but significant differences emerged during storage. Hermetic packaging (PET and BoPP) effectively maintained stable moisture (9.13% and 9.28%), while HDPE and LDPE showed moderate increases upto 120 days, and jute absorbed the highest moisture (11.67%) at 120 days and then showed a decline trend. Insect infestation and grain damage were completely absent in PET and BoPP, whereas HDPE, LDPE, and particularly jute recorded progressive infestation (up to 224 insects/500 g) and damaged grains (0.74%). Correspondingly, no weight loss was observed in PET and BoPP, while HDPE, LDPE, and jute exhibited 11.93%, 17.06%, and 19.91% losses, respectively. Protein content declined across all treatments, but losses were minimal in PET (22.62%) and BoPP compared to jute (21.82%). Cooking time increased with storage duration, though hermetic packaging minimized the rate of grain hardening relative to conventional materials. These findings confirm that hermetic polymer-based packaging, particularly BoPP and PET, provide superior protection by preserving grain quality, reducing nutrient loss, and preventing insect infestation and physical damage. While PET offers excellent barrier properties, BoPP is more widely preferred in practice due to its cost-effectiveness. Overall, hermetic packaging emerges as the most reliable strategy for minimizing post-harvest losses and ensuring long-term storage quality of black gram.