109 Evaluation of Postharvest Quality Parameters in Lulo (Naranjilla) Stored at Different Temperatures

Abstract

Lulo (Solanum quitoense L.) fruits grown at the Andes farms, T·chira State in Venezuela, were harvested at the mature green stage, selected, washed, and transported to the postharvest Lab. Fruits were stored in small commercial carton boxes in storage rooms at 5, 10, and 15 °C during 3 weeks. Chemical parameters such as solid soluble concentration (SSC), pH, tritatable acidity (TA), ratio SSC/TA, and physical parameters such as Color: L*, Hue, Chroma, color index (a+b)/L × 100, texture and fresh fruit weight loss (FFWL), in pulp extract and from the whole fruit were analyzed at the initial and at the end of each storage week. These characteristics ranged in the fellowing way: SSC: 749% ± 8.09% and its media of 8.02%, TA: 1.05%–1.18% for temperature and 1.01–1.27 for storage time with an average of 1.16% (expressed as citric acid), color index: 4.54–5.22 for storage time and 4.30–5.13 for storage temperatures with an average of 4.86, chroma: 6.21–6.63 for storage time and 6.00–6.55 for storage temperatures with an average of 6.36, FFWL: 1.30%–1.44% for storage temperature and 0.67%–2.11% for storage time .The SSC decreased with increasing the storage temperature. The TA, color index, and chroma decreased with the storage time and increased with storage time, the FFWL values increased with storage temperatures and with storage time.