Abstract

OSUNA-ENCISO, Tomás et al. Ethephon preharvest spray to improve quality of 'Tommy Atkins' mangoes for industrial processing. Rev. fitotec. mex [online]. 2012, vol.35, n.spe5, pp.69-74. ISSN 0187-7380.

Quality improvement for the food industry in mango 'Tommy Atkins' via preharvest application of Ethephon at 0, 200, 400 and 600 μL L^-1 was evaluated. The treatments were applied over the fruit while still on the tree, using a power sprayer, and harvested 6 d after treated. Fruits were stored under simulated marketing conditions (20 ± 2 °C), and evaluated chemically and physically for 8 d. Total soluble solids (TSS) showed a significant difference (P ≤ 0.0001) from 7.2 °Brix for control samples to 7.8, 9.8 and 10.4 °Brix for the 200, 400 and 600 μL L^-1 of Ethephon, respectively. The titratable acidity (TA) and TSS/acid ratio (RAS) were significantly different (P ≤ 0.0001) among treatments; when Ethephon was applied at 600 μL L^-1_;TA data was 0.5 % and 38.8, respectively, while for the other treatments TA readings ranked from 0.8 to 0.9 %, and RAS oscillated from 10.4 to 20.7. The fruit pulp color (H*) was different (P ≤ 0.0001) between Ethephon treated fruits and control; the lowest value was 75.3 H* for Ethephon 600 μL L^-1 which corresponds to an orange pulp, while the higher value (81.4 H*) observed in control samples is related to a yellow pulp. Firmness, expressed in newtons (N) was different among treatments (P ≤ 0.0001); results for control, Ethephon 200, 400 and 600 μL L^-1, were: 189.9, 156.9, 126.0 and 62.5 N, respectively. Ethephon induced the following changes during mangoes ripening: an increased TSS, a reduced TA, an increased RAS, a more intense orange color in the fruit pulp, and a reduced firmness, all these traits indicating an improvement of fruit mangoes quality and availability for processing industries.

Keywords : Mangifera indica; ethylene; ripening; chemical and physical characteristics; food industry.

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