Estudio de la calidad de la fruta de pitahaya amarilla (Selenicereus megalanthus) en diferentes estados de madurez, en el cantón La Joya de los Sachas.

Abstract

The present investigation consisted in studying the fruit quality in species Selenicereus megalanthus (yellow pitahaya) on different stages of maturity in Joya of Sachas canton. For the experimental part, a completely randomized block design was used with a total 84 pitahaya fruits distributed in seven treatments with three units each, four replications; these treatments were based on maturity levels based on a scale from zero to six, ranging from initial maturity to over maturity, respectively; Once the fruits were harvested, they were transferred to the Food Quality Laboratory, where the physical (diameter, length, fresh weight, peel firmness, flesh firmness, peel weight, flesh weight) and chemical (pH, total soluble solids [TSS], total titratable acidity [TTA]) characteristics were evaluated using the laboratory's internal methodologies; Finally, a color chart was prepared with images of the fruits under study and analysis of variance 5% Tukey tests were performed on each study factor to determine statistically significant differences. The percentage of peel was inversely proportional at pulp percentage; in the initial stages of maturity, the peel percentage increased, and the pulp percentage decreased, but when the fruit reached maturity, the percentage of peel decreased and the percentage of pulp increased; when maturity was reached, firmness and titratable acidity decreased, the pH and soluble solids increased. It was concluded that the fruit can be harvested from maturity grade two onwards. It is recommended to determine the postharvest shelf life based on different storage temperatures.