Association of 1-MCP with carnauba waxes in the conservation of guavas ‘Paluma’

Abstract

The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of the exposition of guavas ‘Paluma’ to 1-MCP (1-metilciclopropeno), at the concentration of 300 nL.L^-1, during a period of 12 hours, followed by applications of carnauba waxes. Fruits harvested in the “dark green” to “clear green” maturation stage were submitted to the following treatments: control, 1-MCP, and association of 1-MCP with different commercial marks of carnauba waxes: Primax-40^Ò, Tropical-AR^Ò, Premium brilho^Ò and Premium citrus^Ò. After treatments, guavas were packed in cardboard boxes, in one layer, and stored at normal environmental conditions (24 ± 2 ºC and 72% relative humidity), during 12 days. At each four days, fruits from all treatments were evaluated in relation to: fresh weight loss, pulp firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, ascorbic acid content and total chlorophyll of the peel. The association of carnauba wax with the 1-MCP is efficient on delaying fruit matureness, keeping them particularly firm and with high total chlorophyll content.