Post harvest conservation of beehive ginger (Zingiber spectabile Griff.) at two harvest stages wrapped in plastic film
Floral stems of gingiber (Zingiber spectabile Griff.) harvested at the Experimental Campus of Embrapa Tropical Agroindustry,
located in Fortaleza, State of Ceará; in two harvest stages: inflorescences complete and incomplete opening in the apical zone
were submitted to the process of cleaning and immersed in fungicide solution. Afterwards it was proceeded the cut of the base
of the stems (maintaining standard of 40 cm long), followed by hydration of a period of one hour in recipients containing taper
water. The stems harvested at stage 1 (inflorescences with complete opening in the apical zone) and stage 2 (inflorescences that
presented incomplete opening in the apical zone) were wrapped or not in stretch polyvinylchloride film (PVC) with 15 μm of
thickness After, they were placed in cardboard boxes, type telescope, used commercially (dimensions of 1,0 m of length; 0,32
m of width and 0,2 m of height) and stored in cold cameras in temperature of 15 ºC and 85% of RH. Daily it was evaluated the
loss of fresh weight, visual appearance and floral longevity. The experiment was arranged in complete randomized design in a
factorial outline 2x2, where the first factor referred to the two harvest stages and the second factor concerning to the use or not
of the film of PVC; with three replicates and five stems per repetition. There was not significant interaction between stage of
harvest and use or not of film of PVC for weight loss, visual appearence and floral longevity. The PVC was efficient in
reducing the weight loss for the flowers in both stages of harvest. The highest grades for the visual appearance and lfloral
longevity were reached for the stems harvest at stage 1 and wrapped with PVC film. There were not significant differences
among the stages of harvest for the loss of fresh weight and floral longevity.