Introduction. Brazil is a major
producer of mangoes, but the export volume is still small because
of the short shelf life of this fruit. The objectives of our work
were to evaluate the effect of modifying the storage atmosphere
using plastic film and temperature, according to different periods
of storage, on the characteristics of Espada mango grown organically.
Material and methods. Seven treatments were applied
to the fruits after their harvest: fruits stored at room temperature;
at 12 °C / 80–90% relative humidity (RH); washed and stored at room
temperature; washed and stored at 12 °C / 80–90% RH; washed, packed
in PVC and stored at room temperature; washed, packaged in PVC and
stored at 12 °C / 80–90% RH; and fruits harvested on the same day
of evaluations, at (5, 9, 13, 16 and 21) days of storage. Results
and discussion. Storage at 12 °C and 80–90% RH was more efficient
in delaying fruit ripening, with minor evolution of peel and pulp
color and soluble solids contents; this treatment also delayed the
development of anthracnose. Fruits packed in PVC and stored at room
temperature kept the peel and pulp color for 13 days, compared with
9 days for non-packaged fruits. The ideal time to harvest the Espada
variety occurs at 165 days after the onset of flowering, with an index
of “3” for skin color (equal amounts of green and yellow) and pulp color
(yellow pulp), and soluble solids of 8.5 °Brix. The low severity
of anthracnose found at different evaluation times indicates the
probable tolerance of the Espada variety to the pathogen.