PARTIAL CHEMICAL COMPOSITION, AND MORPHOMETRIC AND SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS OF ORGANICALLY AND CONVENTIONALLY PRODUCED FRUITS OF NARANJILLA (Solanum quitoense var. palora) IN THE WAMANI COMMUNITY, ECUADORIAN AMAZON

Producction of Solanum quitoense var. palora ('naranjilla') is important in the Amazon region due to its high nutritional value and market acceptance. To produce it in a conventional manner, agrochemicals are used that contaminate the fruits, which is a disadvantage in view of current market demands. The objective of the study was to analyze the partial chemical composition, and the sensory and morphometric characteristics of organic and conventional naranjilla fruits. The study was conducted in 14 farms of the Wamani community in the Ecuadorian Amazon, of which seven correspond to the organic production form and seven to the conventional one. Chemical characterization of the soil was carried out from five random samples in each sampling unit, and the partial, sensory and morphometric chemical composition was determinaed in 50 organic and conventional production fruits. The chemical properties of the soil were similar regardless of the type of organic and conventional production, which indicated that the characteristics of the fruits respond to the form of production and not to the soil. The chemical composition, the sensory evaluation and the fruit morphology were similar in both production forms. In organic production a quality fruit is obtained. The multivariate analysis of variance from the evaluated characteristics showed that both types of production forms are similar and, thus, the organic production of naranjilla is feasible.