Abstract

BALAGUERA-LOPEZ, Helber Enrique  and  HERRERA AREVALO, Aníbal. Determining optimal harvest point for champa (Campomanesia lineatifolia R. & P.) fruit based on skin color. Ing. Investig. [online]. 2012, vol.32, n.1, pp.88-93. ISSN 0120-5609.

Optimal perfume guava fruit harvest point is unknown; fruits are therefore harvested at different ripening stages which reduces product quality. Postharvest quality was assessed in six treatments regarding different fruit ripening stages based on skin colour aimed at determining the optimal harvest point as follows: 100% green (G) being physiologically mature, 25% yellow (Y) 75%G, 50%Y-50%G, 75%Y-25%G, 100%Y and a control (fruit collected from the ground). The fruit was harvested in the municipality of Miraflores (Boyacá, Colombia). At the end of storage it was found that the fruits could be harvested 100%G, being physiologically mature, and had a 7.6 day shelf-life; harvesting riper fruits significantly reduced shelf-life. The same fruits continued to ripen during storage maintaining characteristics such as firmness, weight, total soluble solids and total titratable acidity for a longer time. It could be observed that the fruit's postharvest life became extended by harvesting fruit 100%G; the other treatments ripened normally but their postharvest life was shorter.

Keywords : Maturity index; skin colour; postharvest; shelf-life.

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