Biblioteca Central de la Universidad Nacional del Santa

SUMMARY This investigation was done with avocado pear cv. Fuerte Moro's and Casma's localities, which were harvested in two different opportunities and stored to temperatures and different periods, it all with the purpose of determining any influence of these factors in the quality of the fruits, getting along well quality as a status which a fruit satisfies the consumer completely. Harvests were made the January 27 and the April 16 at Moro's zone, and the February 24 and the May 07 at Casma's zone. The tested temperatures were 39.2 °F, 42.8 °F and 48.2 °F and the periods of evaluation were by 14 days, 24 days and 34 days. In each harvest, previous to your analysis and storage, the avocado pear was washed, disinfected, dried, selected and conditioned in such a way that activities be similar to the made in exportation of the product. In the done work himself we observe an increase of the contents of oil and of dry matter in last harvest, at both evaluated zones. Also, we observed a decrease of 5,94 of luminosity of skin in avocado from Moro and 6,78 in them Casma, while the shine of the pulp and seed practically remain constant. The results of the refrigerated storage indicate than the evaluated groups evidenced better conservation when they were stored to 42.8 °F, even for the most extended period of 34 days, where variables as shine and tone of skin, internal color, and general acceptability prevailed on the fruits stored to others temperatures. Also when storing avocado of the two harvests from both zones to 48.2 °F these preserve their initial characteristics until 24 days of storage, for 34 days, the variables as weight, firmness, tone of the color of skin and the external shine were affected negatively, being more evident in the storage after refrigeration to ambient temperature. When fruits were stored to 39.2 °F, the results evidenced differences between the moments of harvest and between the zones, this only in what referred to physiological external disorders, for the characteristic others that way, Casma's avocado presented bigger susceptibility to these conditions, it marked only for a bigger degree of affectation related to the presence of physiological disorders in the external part of the avocados. On the moments of harvest, no matter the zone of procedence, the first harvest's fruits proved to be more affected by this temperature, being the 34 days better appreciated recently of storage. However the physiological disorders did not affect the internal part t of the avocados, being an exception in this case the fruits from Casma's first harvest in the ones that was observed a degree of affectation.