Physical quality of 'Palmer' mango coated with cassava starch

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate changes in the physical attributes of 'Palmer' mango coated with cassava starch biofilm. The fruits were selected, washed, sanitized and coated with the biofilm in the concen­trations of 1%, 2% and 3% starch, except for the control (0%), being subsequently stored at 10 ± 0.5 °C and 60% relative humidity for 20 days. Assessments were made every five days to check weight loss, length and diameter, fruit firmness, solute leakage and color of the peel and pulp. The experiment was conducted in a completely ran­domized design in a factorial 4x5 (coating concentrations x storage periods), with four replications. The results were submitted to analysis of variance and comparison of means by Tukey test at 5% probability. The cassava starch coating was characterized as a good alternative for maintaining the postharvest quality of the 'Palmer' mango in the concentrations from 2%, since it reduced the weight loss of the fruits and kept higher the firmness values, also being efficient in delaying the development of fruit peel color.