Avaliação da deterioração fúngica e caracterização físico-química em morangos utilizando extrato bruto vegetal

Abstract

Strawberry is a highly perishable fruit, with post-harvest losses of up to 40%, justified by the high respiratory rate, and non-compliant handling conditions in transport, storage and marketing. Such problems lead to numerous physical and chemical changes and, consequently, the development of microorganisms, making it essential to use technologies that help preserve their post-harvest quality. The use of plant extracts has been studied as an alternative to control deteriorating microorganisms, responding to the expectations of the population that has sought a healthier way of life, through the consumption of products without pesticides. The Botrytis cinerea fungus is a facultative plant pathogen, which can affect all stages of development of several fruits. Catuaba, guaraná, sibipiruna and barbatimão are plants found in the Brazilian flora and have shown active characteristics of their extracts. The objective of this work was to apply catuaba, guarana, barbatimão and sibipiruna extracts associated with a biodegradable film, on strawberries, to evaluate their conservation. Fruits were evaluated every two days for weight loss, pH variation, titratable acidity and soluble solids. In general, it was found that there were significant differences between the extract samples and the control sample for mass loss. For pH there was no significant difference between samples. Regarding the titratable acidity, there were no differences between samples. Soluble solids maintained the same significant mean between samples. According to the results obtained, the coated treatments did not differ statically from the control sample, being efficient in maintaining the physical characteristics of the strawberry statically from the control sample, being efficient to maintain the characteristics.