Permeability and microscopic structure of the cuticle in 'Tommy Atkins' mangoes skin.
Gazzola R., Alves R. E., Filgueiras H. A. C., Soares A. A.
Author Affiliation: Embrapa Agroindústria Tropical, C.P. 3761, 60511-110, Fortaleza, CE, Brazil.
: 589-593
Abstract : To study the brown spots in 'Tommy Atkins' mangoes, fruits grown at Ipanguassu, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, were harvested and stored at 12°C for a period of 19 days and then evaluated for cuticular permeability. Fifty circle-like pieces, with 1.39-cm diameter and 1.52-cm2 area were obtained from red and green parts of the peel of both affected and non-affected mangoes and placed on polystyrene moulds over Petri dishes containing 5 ml of distilled water. Petri dishes were weighed at 1-h intervals and the amount of water lost was expressed as mg cm-2 h-1. The evaluation of cuticular permeability was made by comparison with different samples, with a Petri dish plus polystyrene used as a control. After cold storage, 'Tommy Atkins' mangoes cuticular permeability showed a tendency to decrease in both healthy and spotted fruits. The microscopic images of 'Tommy Atkins' mangoes show that symptoms that are seen as brown spots in the peel did not appear at the outer cellular strata and were not caused via cuticle injuries.