The purpose of this research was to evaluate the application of alternative products and refrigeration, with subsequent exposure to exogenous ethylene on quality of plums ‘Reubennel’, in order to prolong the marketing period. Products applied soon after harvest were: citric biomass (Ecolife ®) - 150 ml (pc) 100 L-1 for 30 s; ethanol vapor - 2 ml kg-1, per 2 h (20°C/80% RH) and , calcium chloride (CaCl2) - 1% (w / v) for 10 min. Then, the fruits were stored at 0°C/95% RH. After 17 to 33 days, three boxes per treatment with 40 fruits each were removed from the cooling chamber, one of the boxes segregated for analysis, while the other two were transferred to 20oC/85% RH for 4 more days. Of these boxes, one for each treatment was subjected to climatization through the application of ethylene (100 uL-1,72 h) in a mini-camera (200 L). We proceeded to evaluate the quality of the fruit at zero, 17, 17+4, 33, and 33+4 days, through physical-chemical, microbiological and sensory analysis. The results were analyzed statistically in a completely randomized design for alternative products and factorial (4x2) for the combination with the climatization. It was concluded that post-harvest treatment of plums with ethanol vapor reduces the microbial population as well as providing increased soluble solids. The ‘Reubennel’ plums can be stored for up to 33 days under refrigeration (0oC/95% RH), followed by climatization with ethylene and immediately commercialized.
Prunus salicina ; ethylene; ethanol vapor; calcium chloride; citric biomass
