Abstract

AULAR, Jesús  and  RODRIGUEZ, Jesús Aular. Quality of orange produced in Yumare, Venezuela, and its evolution during the fruits harvest. Bioagro [online]. 2007, vol.19, n.3, pp.169-174. ISSN 1316-3361.

ABSTRACT Industrial reception of orange fruits in Venezuela initiates in January and it may take up to 5 months. The fruit produced in Yumare, Yaracuy State, Venezuela, is the first to be harvested, but it shows low yields in juice and concentrate, as well as undesirable values of soluble solids and total acidity. For that reason, the objective of this research was to describe the evolution of the orange quality during the industrial reception period and to ascertain the best reception moment. The records of fruit quality from Multifruit Company in the period 2000-2005 were considered. The data were grouped by year in 15-day periods for the time of reception, and analyzed statistically. On average through the years, the juice was low in acidity and high in ratio, while during the fruit reception period a decrease of the acidity and an increase of the ratio were observed. It was concluded that the best quality fruit was that received between March and April.

Keywords : Agroindustry; Citrus sinensis; fruit crops; postharvest handling.