Laesio Pereira Martins

Desenvolvimento de frutos de cirigueleira (Spondias purpurea L.)

The aim of this research was to evaluate the development profile of red mombin fruits. For the evaluation of growth and maturation, open flowers were marked after anthesis and fruits were sampled at regular intervals, and length, diameter, volume, and, fresh and dry weights were measured throughout the development following the growth of the fruits. Red mombin fruit developmental cycle, from anthesis to full ripening, lasted 124 days, characterized by the increase in fresh and dry weights, volume, length, and diameter. The growth period, mainly characterized by the increase in fruit length, had the highest growth rate until approximately 55 days, followed by a lower growth rate period from 55 to 105 days post-anthesis. Fruit maturation, which started when fruit growth rates slowed down, was set around 100 days and fruit ripening was initiated around 119 days post-anthesis.

Fisiologia do dano pelo frio em ciriguela (Spondias purpurea L.)

The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of maturation stage, temperature and exposure time on the incidence of chilling injury (CI) in red mombin fruit. For the evaluation of the less susceptible maturation stage to CI, fruits were harvested at breaker (B), pigment initiation (PI), and yellow predominant (YP) stages and exposed to temperature of 9.5 oC, 10.5 oC, and 14.5 oC, during 1, 3, and 5 days. For the evaluation of CI development in fruits at YP stage, ten temperatures ranging from 5 oC to 14.5 oC, were tested. For fruits at B stage, irreversible CI symptoms were present at 14.5 oC, after 3 days, while for PI stage these symptoms were severe after 5 days. For the YP stage, no CI symptom was detected between 9.5 oC and 14.5 oC. The YP stage presented a light CI index at 9 oC, after 5 days. The low temperature sensitivity and CI occurrence in red mombin fruit were dependent on maturation stage. The YP stage presented the best adaptation to low temperatures and 9.5 oC was the limit temperature at which red mombin fruit could be stored without CI risk.