Yellow passion fruit presents seasonal production and occurs in the winter and summer harvest seasons. The aim of this work was to evaluate the influence of two different harvest seasons on the quality of yellow passion fruit (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa Degener) juice, in seven maturation stages. The experiments were constituted of two harvest seasons (EP 1 and EP 2) and seven maturation stages, with 10 repetitions. The results were evaluated through the Tukey test at a 5% probability level. In EP 1, characterized by lower temperatures and lower total precipitation, the fruits presented higher Total Titratable Acidity (TTA), total soluble solids content (TSS), dry matter and TSS/TTA ratio, and lower pH, until the ripening stage of 65% yellow color of the peel, when compared with EP 2. After this stage no difference in TSS content between harvest seasons was found. However, the juice of totally mature fruits presented lower contents of dry matter and TSS/TTA ratio in the EP 1 season, as well as higher acidity. It was concluded that yellow passion fruit can be harvested with 65% yellow color of the peel in harvest season EP 1, due to the maintenance of chemical quality; however, in harvest season EP 2, the fruits showed an increase in the TSS/TTA ratio until the mature stage.
yellow passion fruit; Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa D.; juice; ripening
