PHYSICO-CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF SUGAR APPLE (Annona squamosa L.) FRUITS STORED WITH PVC FILM IN DIFFERENT CONTROLLED TEMPERATURES

Sugar apple ( Annona squamosa L.) is tropical climacteric fruit with a very short shelf life, ripening completely in just a few days under favorable conditions. Among the techniques employed to increase the time of conservation are the use of modified atmosphere and cooling. The objective of this work was to study the use of PVC film and cooling to increase the shelf-life time of fresh fruits of sugar apple. Fruits were harvested at the stage of physiological ripeness, stored in paperboard boxes (33cm x 27cm x 10cm) covered or not with PVC film and placed in refrigerators with temperatures set to 18oC, 21oC, 24oC and room temperature (average 27°C±2). The experiment was set in a completely randomized design and the treatments evaluated in a fatorial scheme 2x4 (with and without PVC film and 4 temperatures) with four replications and three fruits per plot. The results showed that lower temperatures did not affect physical-chemical characteristics of the fruits, but increased the time of post-harvesting conservation by three fold. The use of PVC film helps to preserve the weight and the external and internal quality of the fruits, but it reduced the amount of total solid soluble of the fruit pulp on the consumption point.