QUALITY OF ATEMOYA FRUITS HARVESTED AT TWO MATURITY STAGES

Due the expansion of atemoya cultivation and its increasing consumption in the principal Brazilian markets, it is necessary to investigate the postharvest physiology of fruit as well as the use of technologies to increase their shelf life. The purpose of this paper was to evaluate the quality attributes of atemoya 'Gefner' harvested in two maturation stages. The fruit, from commercial plantation located in Neopolis, SE, Brazil, were evaluated at harvest and after three days, staying at 25 degrees C throughout the experiment. The experimental design was completely randomized in a factorial 2 x 4 (maturity stage x time), with five replicates. The characteristics evaluated were: color, firmness, weight loss, color, soluble solids (SS), titratable acidity (TTA), pH and vitamin C. The color, the mass loss and the SS and ATT increased during storage, with decrease in pH and a dramatic reduction in the level of vitamin C. The storage time directly influenced all traits. Among the stages of maturation, only firmness differed significantly and may be used as an indicator of ripeness.