Acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) is one of the most important fruit produced in the São Francisco Valley, a Semi-arid region in the Northeast of Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical quality of thirty-ve acerola genotypes produced during two growing seasons in a Semi-arid region and to identify the best ones with potential for fresh consumption based on a multivariate selection index. Fruit of each genotype were harvested during two growing seasons at the maturity stage red-ripe, characterized by full red skin color. After harvest, the fruit were evaluated for diameter, mass, esh rmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio, ascorbic acid content and skin color. A multivariate selection index (SI) was applied for scoring and ranking the genotypes for fresh consumption based on red-ripe fruit physicochemical quality. According to the results, all physicochemical attributes had high variability among genotypes. The SI was a powerful tool for identifying genotypes with high potential for fresh consumption, since it allowed selecting genotypes with multiple desirable traits. In the rst and second growing seasons, the SI identi ed the genotypes PROG 052 (SI = 76.1 and 78.9), BRS Rubra (SI = 74.1 and 99.5), Cabocla (SI = 72.3 and 70.7), Costa Rica (SI = 61.2 and 73.8) and PROG 069 (SI = 68.1 and 72.4) as the most promising ones for fresh consumption due to the presence of multiple desirable traits such as high diameter, mass, esh rmness, SS, and SS/AT ratio, as well as lower acidity. IntroductionAcerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) is a tropical super-fruit due to its high vitamin C content that exceeds 100 times the contents observed in oranges and lemons (Prakash and Baskaran, 2018). The worldwide cultivation of acerola takes place from South Texas, Mexico, Central America and Northern regions in the South America, as well as some regions of Southeast Asia, specially India (Assis et al., 2008;Hanamura et al., 2008). Currently, Brazil is the largest producer of acerola, with several cultivation areas in the Northeastern region, where the environmental conditions enable three to four harvests per year (Alves et al., 1999).The production of acerolas in Brazil is intended for the fresh fruit market and/or processing industry. Genotypes intended for fresh consumption are characterized by larger and rmer fruit, with higher soluble solids content and lower levels of organic acids, which guarantees the sweetness desired by consumers (Hoehn et al., 2005). On the other hand, genotypes intended for the processing industry must have higher levels of ascorbic acid, which is one of the main forms of processed products. Acerola can also be marketed as frozen pulp, concentrate, juice, ice cream, gelatin, soft drinks, nectar, jelly, gum, preserve, yogurts and sodas (Delva and Schneider, 2013;Mezadri et al., 2006).The quality of each acerola genotype is highly dependent on environmental conditions such as temperature, precipitation and sunlight, as well as on crop management practices such as ir...

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Most of the postharvest losses on table grapes are related to the berry abscission and stem browning that affect the product appearance, reducing its commercial value and becoming a problem to table grapes production chain worldwide. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of pre-harvest application of foliar fertilizers, plant growth regulators or a mix of both on table grapes var. ‘Sweet Globe’ quality parameters. All treatments were applied in a volume of 100 L ha-1 after 75 days (pre-softening), 95 days (ten days before harvest) and 103 days (two days before harvest). The clusters were harvested at the commercial harvest maturity stage, packed and stored in a cold room (0 °C and 95% RH), being evaluated for berry abscission, stem browning, firmness, abscission force, soluble solids, acidity, stem dry matter, stem water activity and weight loss at harvest and at 14, 42 and 56 days of storage. Although there was no statistical difference from control, the pre-harvest application of Hold® + Gibberellin resulted in clusters with lower percentage of berry abscission and the application of Kamab® resulted in clusters with lower stem browning, both evaluated after 56 days of storage.

Acerola (Malpighia emarginata DC.) is one of the most important fruit produced in the São Francisco Valley, a Semi-arid region in the Northeast of Brazil. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical quality of thirty-five acerola genotypes produced during two growing seasons in a Semi-arid region and to identify the best ones with potential for fresh consumption based on a multivariate selection index. Fruit of each genotype were harvested during two growing seasons at the maturity stage red-ripe, characterized by full red skin color. After harvest, the fruit were evaluated for diameter, mass, flesh firmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio, ascorbic acid content and skin color. A multivariate selection index (SI) was applied for scoring and ranking the genotypes for fresh consumption based on red-ripe fruit physicochemical quality. According to the results, all physicochemical attributes had high variability among genotypes. The SI was a powerful tool for identifying genotypes with high potential for fresh consumption, since it allowed selecting genotypes with multiple desirable traits. In the first and second growing seasons, the SI identified the genotypes PROG 052 (SI = 76.1 and 78.9), BRS Rubra (SI = 74.1 and 99.5), Cabocla (SI = 72.3 and 70.7), Costa Rica (SI = 61.2 and 73.8) and PROG 069 (SI = 68.1 and 72.4) as the most promising ones for fresh consumption due to the presence of multiple desirable traits such as high diameter, mass, flesh firmness, SS, and SS/AT ratio, as well as lower acidity.

The objective of this study was to determine the most efficient sample size required to estimate the mean of postharvest quality traits of ‘Palmer’ mangoes harvested in two growing seasons. A total of 50 mangoes were harvested at maturity stage 2, in winter (June 2020) and spring (October 2020), and evaluated for weight, length, ventral and transverse diameter, skin and pulp L*, C* and hº, dry matter, firmness, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA) and the SS/TA ratio. According to the results, the coefficient of variation (CV) of fruit quality traits ranged from 2.1% to 18.1%. The highest CV in both harvests was observed for the SS/TA ratio, while the lowest was reported for pulp hº. In order to estimate the mean of physicochemical traits of ‘Palmer’ mangoes, 12 fruits are needed in the winter and 14 in the spring, considering an estimation error of 10% and a confidence interval of 95%. TA and the SS/TA ratio required the highest sample size, while L* and hº required the lowest sample size. In conclusion, the variability was different among physicochemical traits and seasons, implying that different sample sizes are required to estimate the mean of different quality traits in different growing seasons.

Tetrazolium test (TZT) can quickly evaluate in detail the viability and vigor of seeds. This study aimed to determine the optimal conditions for conducting the TZT on seeds of Handroanthus spongiosus. For this purpose, seeds from three lots were pre-soaked in water for 16 h, followed by extraction of the tegument and immersion in tetrazolium salt solutions at different concentrations (0.01–0.1%), for increasing periods (1–4 h) and at 30 °C in the dark. The experimental design was completely randomized with a 4 × 4 factorial scheme with 25 seeds per repetition. We applied generalized linear models and the Tukey test for pairwise comparisons of the means at 5% probability. The viability/vigor results were compared with data obtained from the germination test at 25 °C using a subsample of seeds from the same lots. The time (1 h to 4 h) of immersion of the seeds in tetrazolium salt solutions did not cause a clear coloration difference. The seeds subjected to all treatment concentrations for 3 h presented average viability greater than 60%, with no difference in germination percentage. The TZT at 0.01% tetrazolium salt solution for 3 h was most efficient in assessing the viability of the Handroanthus spongiosus seeds.

Although acerola (Malpighia emarginata D.C.) has been suggested to be a climacteric fruit, little is known about its sensitivity to exogenous ethylene. The objective of the study was to evaluate the quality changes of acerola fruit at two harvest maturity stages in response to external ethylene application. 'Flor Branca' and 'Junko' acerolas were harvested at the maturity stages 1 (green fruit with density>1 g cm -3 ) and 2 (green fruit with density <1 g cm -3 ) and were treated with 0 or 1,000 µL L -1 of ethylene for 24 hours at 12 ºC.The fruit were stored at 12ºC with relative humidity of 90-95% for 14 days. Both cultivars harvested at the maturity stage 2 showed skin color change from green to red during storage, which was not observed in fruit harvested at the maturity stage 1. External ethylene had no effect on 'Flor Branca' and 'Junko' acerolas respiration rate, flesh firmness, skin color, weight loss, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (AT), SS/AT ratio, and ascorbic acid contents. The classification of green acerolas by density was an effective approach to determine fruit harvest maturity for fresh consumption.