Postharvest Quality of Yellow Pear Tomato Cultivated in Aquaponic System

Abstract

The production of vegetables in aquaponic systems has high sustainability and conservation of natural resources, but studies that make their cultivation feasible under Brazilian conditions are still incipient. Given the influence that the cultivation system can cause on the postharvest characteristics of fruits and vegetables, this study aimed to evaluate the postharvest quality of yellow pear tomato cultivated in an aquaponic system. Tomato plants were grown in a protected environment, in the experimental area of aquaponics of the Faculty of Agrarian Sciences, belonging to the Federal University of Grande Dourados. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial scheme, with two factors: maturity stage at harvest and storage time. Three stages of fruit maturity (green, intermediate and ripe) and two storage times (zero and 35 days) were analyzed. Tomato samples were subjected to the analyses using the whole fruit, evaluated for mass loss, color and firmness, and the fruit pulp, evaluated for soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TA), SS/TA ratio, pH and lycopene content. The fruits of yellow pear tomato cultivated in aquaponic system were in satisfactory conditions with respect to the postharvest parameters evaluated, indicating great potential to be cultivated on a commercial scale under Brazilian conditions. The parameters analyzed were similar or superior to the parameters of tomatoes grown in other cropping systems.