The harvest point is one of the most important factors to minimal processing of guavas. The objective of this research was to determine the ideal maturity stage of 'Kumagai' and 'Pedro Sato' guavas for fresh-cut. Both varieties of guavas fruits were harvested in three maturity stages defined by the skin color in green, light-green and yellowish-green. Guavas were sanitized, refrigerated, processed in round slices, packed in trays with PVC film and stored at 5±1°C e 80±5% RH. Physical-chemical and sensorial analyses took place in the beginning of the experiment and every three days during nine days. Guavas in advanced maturity stages showed severe loss of firmness and browning of the pulp, which are characteristics of senescence. However, these treatments had the highest grades for the sensorial analysis of appearance. Already, guavas at green maturity stage showed low acceptability grades during evaluations. Therefore, the light-green and yellowish-green maturity stages are indicates to the minimal processing of guavas. However, it is necessary to involve technical control of senescence to increase the shelf life of fresh-cut guavas
Psidium guajava; harvest time; minimally processed; postharvest quality
