POSTHARVEST HANDLING OF SAPOTE MAMEY (Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore and Stearn) AND ITS IMPACT ON FRUIT QUALITY

In Mexico most of sapote mamey (Pouteria sapota (Jacq.) H. E. Moore and Stearn) trees have a length over 10 m, making difficult to harvest their fruits, therefore fruits are often damaged. Fruit preservation in different packaging causes damage to varying degrees. We evaluated five postharvest handling techniques in terms of postharvest fruit quality: T1, fruits harvested without damages, individually pac-ked in carton boxes; T2, fruits dropped from 10 m high, captured in jute sacks, packed in bulk using plastic boxes; T3, fruits dropped from 10 m high on a mattress and packed in bulk using plastic boxes; T4, fruits dropped from 4 m high to moisture soil and packed in bulk using plastic boxes; and T5, fruits dropped from 10 m high, caught and packed in jute sacks. Fruits were stored at room temperature (25 ± 1 °C); fruit quality was evaluated on days 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 after harvest (DAH). Treatment T1 recorded the highest firmness, the lowest pectin methylesterase activity and total soluble solids content (°Brix); and the lowest changes in lightness (L*), and chroma(C) in comparison with treatments T4 and T5 (7 and 9 DAH). Differences in hue angle (H) were observed after 9 day (DAH), where treatment T1 showed higher values than T5. Malic acid percent and weight loss did not show significant differences among treatments.