Abstract :
Papaya is classified as commodities with high economic value but has properties that are easily broken (perishable), and easy to drop weight losses due to the thin skin and soft flesh. A process of transporting the papaya fruit from producers to consumers is only done with very simple packaging. Improvements in packaging will provide a great advantage for marketing papaya fruit. This study aimed to determine the effect of papaya fruit quality with different filler materials during ground transportation. This research was conducted in August to November 2017 in the Laboratory of Biosystems Engineering Study Program of Agricultural Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara and in the Laboratory of Food Technology, Study Program of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sumatera Utara.
The results showed that the percentage of weight loss, mechanical damage, the most high hardness after the simulation with a frequency of 1.5 Hz and 3 Hz, namely 6.74%; 71.48%; 4.23 gr / mm and 7%; 97.16%; 4.17 gr / mm at treatment PJT3 (plastic basket with a long straw filler material simulation 5 hours), while the lowest percentage after the simulation with a frequency of 1.5 Hz and 3 Hz, namely 0.14%; 30.95%; 2.86 gr / mm and 0.17%; 26.18%; 2.56 gr / mm at treatment PKT1 (filler paper with simulated 1 hour) at the top. In this study, the most excellent packaging to reduce the deterioration of the papaya by simulating the transport of 1.5 Hz and 3 Hz which is in a plastic basket with filler paper.