Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2013
Introduction. Brazil is a majorproducer of mangoes, but the export volume is still small becauseof the short shelf life of this fruit. The objectives of our workwere to evaluate the effect of modifying the storage atmosphereusing plastic film and temperature, according to different periodsof storage, on the characteristics of Espada mango grown organically. Material and methods. Seven treatments were appliedto the fruits after their harvest: fruits stored at room temperature;at 12 °C / 80–90% relative humidity (RH); washed and stored at roomtemperature; washed and stored at 12 °C / 80–90% RH; washed, packedin PVC and stored at room temperature; washed, packaged in PVC andstored at 12 °C / 80–90% RH; and fruits harvested on the same dayof evaluations, at (5, 9, 13, 16 and 21) days of storage. Resultsand discussion. Storage at 12 °C and 80–90% RH was more efficientin delaying fruit ripening, with minor evolution of peel and pulpcolor and soluble solids contents; this treatment also delayed thedevelopment of anthracnose. Fruits packed in PVC and stored at roomtemperature kept the peel and pulp color for 13 days, compared with9 days for non-packaged fruits. The ideal time to harvest the Espadavariety occurs at 165 days after the onset of flowering, with an indexof “3” for skin color (equal amounts of green and yellow) and pulp color(yellow pulp), and soluble solids of 8.5 °Brix. The low severityof anthracnose found at different evaluation times indicates theprobable tolerance of the Espada variety to the pathogen.