2017 ASHS Annual Conference

Pitaya is a non-climacteric fruit belonging to the genus Hylocereus that has white or red flesh with numerous small black seeds. In the U.S., the market for red-fleshed pitaya is expanding, with a 4.5 kg carton selling for $55. Pitaya has a high moisture content; however, water loss during handling and storage negatively affects the fresh weight, firmness and appearance of the fruit, decreasing market value. Application of compatible postharvest coatings have been shown to benefit postharvest quality of many crops, slowing ripening, retarding water loss, enhancing visual quality and increasing resistance to decay. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of two commercial coatings on weight loss and quality of pitaya during storage. Pitaya fruit (cv. Lisa) were commercially harvested in Homestead, Florida, a humid, subtropical climate. Fruit were returned to the laboratory at ambient temperature, held overnight at 15 °C and sorted the next day for uniformity of size and freedom from defects. Fruit were briefly immersed in either a vegetable oil-based coating (VOC; SF2981) or a carnauba-based coating (CC; EF6100) (JBT FoodTech, Lakeland, Fla.) or in tap water (control). Fruit was fan-dried at room temperature for 20 min, then stored on single-layer trays at 7 °C with 85% relative humidity (RH) for 20 days. Every 5 days, fruit (n=4) were evaluated for dryness, decay, overall appearance, weight loss, external color and firmness. After each evaluation fruit were peeled and frozen (-14 °C) for later analysis of soluble solids content (SSC) and total titratable acidity (TTA). An untrained consumer taste panel (n=71) evaluated fruit after 14 d. After 15 d storage, CC prevented shriveling (0%) compared to uncoated pitaya (16.3%); VOC was not different than the other treatments. Fruit coated with CC had significantly higher L* value (34.85); however, there was no treatment effect for the other parameters, including the sensory evaluations for appearance, acceptability, flavor, texture, firmness and juiciness. After 20 d storage, appearance for fruit from all treatments was unacceptable due to development of anthracnose; weight loss was 5.5%. It was concluded that CC best maintained freshness of pitaya by preventing shriveling for 15 d at 7 °C and 85% RH.