Use of post-harvest films for the maintenance of the visual attributes and ethylene production of ornamental mini-pumpkins

Abstract

In recent years, consumers have shown interest in the ornamental use of some fruits that were previously used mainly for food purposes. However, the use of ‘mini-pumpkins’ for ornamentation can be limited by post-harvest aspects, such as skin depigmentation, fresh mass losses, ethylene production and respiration, which compromise the visual quality of the product, resulting in the loss of its ornamental value. The objective was to evaluate the effect of films application (control, carnauba wax, cassava starch and corn starch) in post-harvest of ornamental mini-pumpkins, aiming the shelf life prolongation (experiment 1) and reduction of ethylene production and respiration (experiment 2). The results obtained in experiment 1 pointed to lower mass loss and maintenance of the ornamental mini-pumpkins epidermis color with the application of carnauba wax film. In experiment 2, the application of carnauba wax and the ethylene action inhibitor (1-MCP) did not and respiration production of mini-pumpkins, suggesting that ethylene is not involved in the modifications that occur in the product during the time of exposure to the environment.