Effect of fruit dropping on postharvest quality of mango 'Rosa' at two maturity stages.
Santos E. C. dos, Santos A. F. dos, Silva S. de M., Silveira I. R. B. S., Lira M. L. dos S., Silva L. P. da, Alves R. E.
Author Affiliation: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA)/UFPB, CEP 58397-000, Areia, PB, Brazil.
: 543-549
Abstract : The effect of fruit dropping on postharvest quality of mango cv. Rosa fruits at the green-yellowish (mature-green) and yellowish-greenish (pre-climacteric) stages was investigated in Areia, Paraíba, Brazil. The treatments were: fruits dropped from an average height of 5 m and fruits harvested without dropping using a 6-m rod provided with a 20×20 cm-cloth basket at the end (control). Fruits of each treatment were kept at room temperature (24+-2°C) and evaluated for weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), total titratable acidity (TTA), skin colour, and external and internal appearances. As measured by external appearance, mango harvested at yellow-greenish maturation stage was much affected by dropping. For green-yellowish fruits, the symptoms resulting from dropping included impaired or uneven ripening, followed by a decay. For yellow-greenish fruits, the impacts resulted in an accentuated rate of weight loss, darkened skin, pulp browning, fungi infection, and soaked areas. Skin black spots were observed in dropped yellow-greenish fruits 4 days after harvesting, paralleled by an increased of pulp's TTA and presence of fermentative off-flavour. Dropping fruits from the tree reduced the shelf life by ~4 days for yellow-greenish fruits compared with green-yellowish non-dropped fruits. Fruit dropping accelerated the senescene process, mainly for mango harvested at yellow-greenish stage.