Resumo

PORTILLO, E; GRAZIANI DE FARINAS, L  e  BETANCOURT, E. Effect of the Treatments Post harvest on the Temperature and the Index of Fermentation in the Quality of the Cocoa Criollo Porcelana (Theobroma cacao L.) in the South of the Maracaibo Lake. Rev. Fac. Agron. [online]. 2005, vol.22, n.4, pp.394-406. ISSN 0378-7818.

To establish the appropriate conditions of fermentation it is necessary to know the factors that influence on this, in such a sense it is of supreme importance to define the physical parameters that you/they reveal with more precision the particularities associated to the quality of the cocoa Porcelana. The present work had as objective the evaluation of some factors post-crop that they influence on the fermentation like: fermentador type (TF), removal frequency (FR), it tolerated of the ear (AM) and the time of fermentation (TPF). The methodology consisted at random on a design of blocks with a factorial arrangement where four factors were studied (TF, FR, AM, TPF). The studied variables were: temperature of the mass of cocoa and the index of fermentation. The results showed highly significant differences (P<0,01) for all the factors of studies and for the two analyzed variables, in relation to the interactions, these they reflect that the maxima values of temperature (45,4°C) they were obtained in the square drawer and endurance zero. The removal treatments every 24 hours they also registered the biggest readings at the 72 hours of fermentation (46,5°C) and (46°C) in both cases. The index of more fermentation was obtained in square fermentadores (65,4%) and for the interaction (AMxFR) the best combination is endurance five with removals every 24 hours at the 96 hours of initiate the process. Finally the results allow to conclude that both variables obtain their maxima values in square fermentadores, endurance zero, removals every 24 hours and 72 hours of fermentation for temperature and 96 for the index of fermentation.

Palavras-chave : Theobroma cocoa; quality; temperature; index fermentation.