Abstract

BALAGUERA-LOPEZ, Helber E; MARTINEZ-CARDENAS, Claudia A  and  HERRERA-AREVALO, Aníbal. Postharvest behavior of uchuva fruits (Physalis peruviana L.): Effect of different doses and exposure times at 1-Methylcyclopropene. Bioagro [online]. 2016, vol.28, n.1, pp.021-028. ISSN 1316-3361.

The culture of cape gooseberry (Physalis peruviana L.) is a production alternative for the economy in some tropical countries. The fruit is climacteric and highly perishable with short postharvest life. The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at different doses and exposure times on the postharvest behavior of the fruit. A completely randomized design with treatments in a factorial arrangement 3x3 + 1 was used, where the first factor was the dose of 1-MCP (0.3, 1.0, and 3.0 µL·L^-1) and the second factor the exposure time to the product (2, 12, and 24 h), plus a control (fruits without treatments). The treated fruits were stored at room temperature (16 °C) for 15 days and the results showed that as the dose and duration of exposure to 1-MCP increased the effect on ripening of cape gooseberry fruits was greater. The application of 3 µL·L^-1 for 24 h resulted in a significantly decrease of ethylene production and internal ethylene concentration, less loss of firmness and weight, and lower total acidity compared to control fruits. This same treatment also produced minor changes in color index and total soluble solids. We conclude that 1-MCP represents a useful tool with potential for preserving quality of cape gooseberry fruits during postharvest.

Keywords : Ethylene production; inhibitor of ethylene action; perishable fruit; ripening.

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