Conservação e qualidade pós-colheita do mirtilo

Abstract

One of the greatest challenges of modern agriculture is to lengthen the post-harvest life of fruits, especially those from temperate climates, aiming at diminishing post-harvest losses and increase the shelf-life of the product in the market. Blueberry (Vaccinium myrtillus L.) is a fruit tree from temperate areas and its cultivation is in rapid expansion in countries from South America, such as Brazil and Chile. This growth has been influenced by the great demand generated in the intercrops in producer countries. Thus, this work aimed at evaluating the quality of organic blueberry fruits produced in Caxias do Sul-RS, using eatable covering made of kefir grains, chitosan and plastic films of PVC (polyvinyl chloride) in fruit conservation. The fruits were stored in BOD at 0ºC during 28 days and analyzed every 7 days. The analysis carried out were: mass loss, firming, color, total soluble solids (TSS), total titratable acidity (TTA), pH, reducing sugars, total sugars, ratio (TSS/TTA), carotenoids, phenolic compounds, anthocyanins. Thus, it follows that the using eatable covering made of kefir grains, chitosan and plastic films of PVC in fruit conservation is an economically viable alternative for blueberry commercialization, reducing their wilting and maintaining their good quality.