Eduardo Castro Pereira

Armazenamento e qualidade pós-colheita de frutos de figueira cv. Roxo de Valinhos no Oeste Potiguar

Fig tree fruit have a relatively short shelf life due to their fragile structure and high metabolism, which requires enormous storage. This study aims to evaluate the physical and chemical attributes in the different storage times in post-harvest conservation of fig tree cv. Purple of Valinhos. A completely randomized experimental design was used in a 5 × 3 factorial scheme (5 storage times: 0, 4, 8, 12, 16 days) and (3 harvest points: 50, 75 and 100% mature) with four replicates and 8 fruits per treatment. The fruits were stored in a cold room, with a temperature of 10 ± 2°C and 80-90% relative humidity. These storage conditions were an efficient alternative to maintain fruit quality for up to 4 days for fresh mass and vitamin C characteristics, while soluble solids content (°Brix) had its best values at 16 days of storage. The stage of maturation III obtained greater length and diameter as well as smaller loss of fresh mass and firmness of the fruits.

FENOLOGIA E PRODUÇÃO DA FIGUEIRA CV. ROXO DE VALINHOS NO OESTE POTIGUAR

The ‘Roxo de Valinhos’ fig is one of the most widely grown varieties in the world, however, there are still few studies on the phenology and yield of fig trees, especially in semi-arid regions. This study evaluated the phenology and yield aspects of the ‘Roxo de Valinhos’ fig cultivar in Western Potiguar. The experiment was carried out from July to December 2015 in the didactic orchard of the Federal Rural University of the Semi-Arid, UFERSA. The following phenological aspects were analyzed: pruning at the beginning of budding, emergence and maturity of the first fruit, beginning of harvest, length and diameter of branches, number of fruits per branch, length and diameter of fruits, absolute growth rate, yield per plant, number of fruits per plant, and fruit weight. We used descriptive statistics; for quantitative and qualitative characteristics, we used regression analysis and means test, through Tukey ́s test at 5% probability. Fig trees showed good adaptability to semi-arid regions and precocity when compared to fig trees from temperate regions, in all phenological stages; the studied cultivar showed promising results for cultivation in this region.