Produção, qualidade e conservação pós-colheita de frutas de diferentes cultivares de morangueiro nas condições edafoclimáticas de Pelotas-RS.

Abstract

Strawberry crop (Fragaria x ananassa Duchesne) is grown in all continents, and this fruit is very popular due of its color, scent and flavor. The aim of this work was to evaluate the adaptation, yield and quality of different strawberry cultivars under the climatic conditions of Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul state. The experiments were conducted at Embrapa Temperate Climate, Pelotas-RS from 2011 to 2012. At first, we evaluated fruit, yield, number and average fruit size of the cultivars Albion, Aromas, Camarosa, Camino Real, Portola, Monterey, San Andreas, Strawberry Festival and Palomar. The second test was conducted at the Laboratory of Food Technology, and it evaluated physical and chemical characteristics (soluble solids contents, titratable acidity, soluble solids/titratable acidity, pH, and vitamin C) and quantified the bioactive compounds (phenolic compounds, anthocyanins and antioxidant activity) of the cultivars in three harvest dates: September, October and November. The cultivars showed significant differences for date and for comparison between cultivars in the physical and chemical characteristics. Phenolic compounds and antioxidant activity were higher in September, while anthocyanins was higherin November. The third test was conducted at the Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology. We observed the behavior of cultivars under the cold storage for up to eight days, using three replicates of five fruits in a factorial scheme 8x3 (eight cultivars x three dates). The variables studied were soluble solids content, titratable acidity, soluble solids/acidity, pH, color, luminosity, mass rot and decay incidence. During this period, the cultivars maintained the quality and there was no significant loss of mass, degradation of the compounds or symptoms of illness or unpleasant odor.