Strawberries storage conservation in modified atmosphere

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the quality and conservation of strawberries in modified atmosphere. 'Oso Grande' strawberries, produced in Botucatu-SP-Brazil, and picked in the ¾ red maturation stages were used. The experiment consisted in the storage of the fruits in polyethylene packages under different gaseous mixtures: control; vacuous; 5% O2 and 1% CO2; 5% O2 and 3% CO2; 5% O2 and 5% CO2. The analyzed parameters were: appearance, shelf life, incidence of disease, soluble solids, titratable acidity, vitamin C and firmness. For evaluation of the post-harvest conservation the fruits were stored in 0o C +/- 1o C / 90 +/- 5% UR ambient for 12 days and appraised every 2 days. The statistical layout was completely randomized, by comparing the means with Tukey test in a ratio of 5% probability. The obtained results allow to conclude that the fruits of the treatment testify didn't present statistical differences of the other treatments except the one of vacuous partial.