Caracterização, produtividade e armazenamento pós-colheita refrigerado para laranjas pigmentadas

Abstract

The concentration of anthocyanins in citrus intensifies when cultivation is carried out in environments with lower temperatures or high daily temperature ranges, however, the Brazilian tropical climate does not allow an increase in this compound to occur under normal field conditions. The objective of this work was to identify varieties of pigmented oranges with higher levels of anthocyanins and carotenoids in the juice, after cold storage, that are productive and with fruits with good physical-chemical characteristics. For this work, five varieties of pigmented oranges were selected: Moro IAC 432, Sanguinelli Morocco IAC 73, Sanguinelli Polidari IAC 74, Tarocco IAC 67 and Vermelha Precoce. The vegetative development of plants and productivity (t ha-1) were evaluated in these varieties. For each variety, 96 fruits were harvested, subdivided and evaluated at 0, 30, 60 and 90 days after being stored at 10°C, with a relative humidity of ~90%, in a cold room. The design used was completely randomized (DIC), in a 5 x 4 factorial scheme (5 varieties x 4 storage periods), with three replications, containing 8 fruits of each variety, in each replication. On each storage date, the fruits were removed from the cold room, with five fruits being used for physical-chemical analyzes of the fruits, and the other three fruits being used to quantify anthocyanin and carotenoid levels. The variety Moro IAC 432 (M 432) showed the highest productivity (t ha-1). Even with fruit storage, the height and diameter of the fruits of all varieties remained within the standard accepted by the fresh fruit market and the juice yield exceeded 40%. The only variety that presented a juice ratio within a range considered ideal was the Red Precoce variety. Storage in a cold room did not provide an increase in the carotenoid content in the juice of the varieties, on the other hand it led to an increase in the concentration of anthocyanins, after 60 days of storing the fruits in a cold room, in the varieties M 432, SM 73, SP 74 and T 67. It is concluded from this work that there are varieties of pigmented oranges with productive potential for Brazilian conditions, and their association with high anthocyanin levels is highly dependent on refrigerated storage.