QUALITY OF PITAIA FRUITS SUBMITTED TO FIELD BAGGING

In recent years, with the change in consumer profile, the demand for foods with low levels or even without pesticides has increased. Bagging fruits in the field is considered one of the oldest and effective phytosanitary practices, being an alternative to chemical control. The aim of the present work was to test some types of packaging in the bagging of pitaia fruits during their development in the plant in order to maintain quality. Red pitaia plant fruits [Hylocereus undatus (Haw.) Britton & Rose] five years post-planting were used. The experimental design used was random blocks, with 5 treatments, 4 repetitions and 10 fruits per plot. Treatments consisted of control (without bagging), newspaper bag, Kraft paper bag, waxed paper bag and Non-woven bag (NW). The following characteristics were evaluated: percentage of remaining fruits up to harvest; percentage of damaged fruits; fruit mass; longitudinal and transverse diameter; pulp yield; peel thickness; soluble solids content (SS); pH; titratable acidity (TA) and SS/TA ratio. There was no difference among treatments for most of the characteristics analyzed, except for percentage of remaining fruits on the plant and percentage of damaged fruits. Bagging does not alter the physical and chemical characteristics of red pitaia fruits. NW and newspaper bags are more effective in bagging pitaia fruits due to greater permanence in the fruit during its development in the plant.