Influence of maturity stage on fruit longevity of cherry tomatoes stored at ambient and controlled temperature

Abstract

Fruit maturity stage has direct influence on the post-harvest life and consumer quality. Therefore, the understanding of the maturation process and its quality characteristics for storage are key factors for commercialization. In face of the foregoing, this study aimed to determine shelf life and changes in physical and chemical indexes of cherry tomatoes (Perinha Água Branca (PAB) and Mascot), assessing fruit harvested at four maturity stages and stored at ambient and controlled temperatures. For this, it was used fruit at turning, pink, red and ripe maturity stages, submitted to ambient (25 ± 2 °C) and controlled (12 °C and 90% RH) temperature, and assessed over time the indexes of fresh mass loss, titratable acidity, pH, soluble solids and ascorbic acid. The experimental design was completely randomized design in a factorial scheme of 2×4×7 for ambient temperature and 2×4×8 for controlled temperature. At ambient temperature, a longevity of up to 20 days was observed for PAB and Mascot fruit harvested at turning and pink maturity stages. When harvested at red and ripe stages, the longevity was of 15 days for PAB fruit and of 15 and 11 days, respectively, for Mascot fruit. At controlled temperature, PAB fruit showed longevity of 24 days when harvested at turning and pink stages and of 20 and 7 days, respectively, when harvested at red and ripe stages. A longevity of up to 27 days was observed for Mascot fruit harvested at turning stage and of 24 days for the other stages. The fruit harvested at turning and pink maturity stages, associated with storage under controlled conditions, presented higher longevity and maintenance of physical and chemical indexes of quality. Key words: Solanum lycopersicum. Maturity stage. Post-harvest. ResumoO estádio de maturação do fruto influencia diretamente na sua vida pós-colheita e na escolha por parte do consumidor, por isso o entendimento do processo de maturação e de suas características de qualidade para o armazenamento são fatores fundamentais para a comercialização. Diante disso, este trabalho teve por objetivo determinar o tempo de prateleira e alterações dos índices físicos e químicos em frutos de tomate do grupo cereja (Perinha Água Branca (PAB) e Mascot), colhidos em quatro estádios de maturação e armazenados sob temperatura ambiente e controlada. Para issa, foram utilizados frutos nos estádios de maturação: de vez, rosado, vermelho e maduro, submetidos às temperaturas: ambiente (25 ± 2 °C) e controlada (12 °C e UR de 90%) e avaliados os índices de perda de massa fresca, acidez titulável, pH, sólidos solúveis e ácido ascórbico ao longo do tempo. O delineamento experimental foi

Quality of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruits inoculated with Escherichia coli under different storage conditions

“…In this study, this parameter decreased significantly (P<0.05) as the ripening process advanced; the decrease was more notable in fruits stored at 22 °C (Table 1). In tomato, the ascorbic acid contents are higher in stage full maturation (De Oliveira et al, 2016), which is consistent with the results of this study that although no differences were detected in the three evaluated stages, the highest values were detected at 22 °C, where the fruit maturation occurs more quickly. While at 7 °C, a significant increase (P<0.05) was observed up to 168 h (Table 1).…”

“…At 22 °C fruits were significantly different in sugar content at some times, with an increase at 162 h. Fructose had statistically equal values in fruits stored at 7 and 22 °C, with a significant difference at the longest storage times (72 and 168 h). The fructose contents, associated with the decrease of some organic acids, contribute directly to the flavor of ripe tomatoes (De Oliveira et al, 2016). Finally, sucrose showed a slight increase after 168 h at 7 °C, while at 22 °C there was no significant difference with constant and minor values (Table 1).…”

“…ETEC is also linked to traveler's diarrhea caused by lack of hygiene and fecal contamination (Loc et al, 2014). ETEC's virulence factors are the heat-labile toxin and the heat-stable toxin (Fleckenstein et al, 2010). Furthermore, these bacteria can survive in a variety of environments, such as rivers, drinking water, irrigation water, and fresh vegetables (MacDonald et al, 2015).…”

Texture Profile and Pectinase Activity in Tomato Fruit (Solanum Lycopersicum, Servo F1) at Different Maturity Stages and Storage Temperatures

“…When pectin breaks down, acidity increases due to the formation of galacturonic acid in the fruit. Conversely, organic acid oxidation reduces acidity as a result of the respiratory process (De Oliveira et al, 2016). The remarkable increase in citric acid concentration at the green-ripe stage and stabilization during ripening was shown in tomato fruits (Gierson & Kader, 1986).…”

Análise físico-química e microbiológica de tomates cereja (Solanum lycopersicum var. cesariforme) comercializados em empórios de Manaus-AM

“…O conteúdo significativo de sólidos solúveis totais (7,60 °Brix) foi verificado na amostra ZCS5. Este resultado é superior em 33,42%, 27,77% e 1,98% aos determinados em tomates cereja analisados por Guilherme et al (2014), Aguirre e Cabrera (2012) e Oliveira et al (2016), respectivamente. A análise dos sólidos solúveis é importante na área de alimentos, em especial na avaliação dos parâmetros de qualidade de produtos de origem vegetal, pois indicam o grau de maturação de frutos e indicam o quantitativo de substâncias, principalmente açúcares presentes nesses alimentos (Cavalcanti et al, 2006;Carneiro et al, 2013).…”