2019 ASHS Annual Conference

Mexico is one of the main worldwide exporters of mango, mainly from the cultivar 'Ataulfo'. However, an important limitation of this cultivar is the presence of a large number of small fruits (parthenocarpic) that lack commercial value in the export market. Although these small fruits are commercialized with some success in the Mexican domestic market; it would be desirable to develop its commercialization in the export market, which is a challenge due to the fact that it is more perishable than non-parthenocarpic fruit. On the other hand, the physiological response to cold storage and to a more technified postharvest handling of this type of mango is unknown. In view of the lack of information in this regard, the objective of this study was to determine the postharvest behaviour of parthenocarpic mango fruits under two storage conditions, at room temperature (20 °C, 51 % RH) and at room temperature after cold storage (10 ± 2 °C, 94% RH) for 1, 2 and 3 weeks.

The research was carried out with fruits from the main regions producing mango "Ataulfo" in Mexico (Chiapas and Nayarit) to compare the pattern of respiration, weight loss, total soluble solids (° Brix), titratable acidity, total and reducing sugars. pH, firmness, skin color, pulp / fruit weight ratio, chilling injury and visual evaluation. The fruits of Chiapas and Nayarit used as a the control showed the typical climacteric pattern, with maximum respiration rate at day eight after harvest, with 90.2 and 122.7 mL CO₂ kg^-1h^-1 and weight losses of 18.4 and 31.7 %, respectively. The fruits from Nayarit and Chiapas showed chilling injury symptoms only after two and three weeks of refrigeration, respectively. The symptoms observed were high percentages of acidity and of anthracnose.

Key words: Respiration rate, weight loss, TSS, Mangifera indica L., chilling injury, mango child, titratable acidity, total and reducing sugars, pH, firmness, color.