POTENCIAL DE COMERCIALIZAÇÃO E QUALIDADE PÓSCOLHEITA DE MAMÃO „HAWAII‟ NAS FEIRAS LIVRES DE MUNICÍPIOS DO TERRITÓRIO DA BORBOREMA - PB

Abstract

Papaya (Carica papaya L.) belongs to the family Caricaceae and is a fruit that has relatively short postharvest life. World production of papaya represents 10% of world production of tropical fruits. In 2011, the Northeast region contributed with 63.34% of papaya production in Brazil, taking 1st place in the national ranking, while the Paraíba state occupied the 6th place. The street markets are of great socioeconomic importance to the various municipalities nationwide and in these environments usually occurs high waste of fruits and vegetables. The present study aimed to evaluate the quality and characterize the potential of commercialization of 'Hawaii' papaya, cultivar Solo, in the the street markets of municipalities Borborema Territory, state of Paraíba, looking to diagnose the main factors that may influence postharvest losses. It was evaluated papayas from five street markets located at each of five municipalities of the Borborema Territory region (Areia, Arara, Esperança, Remígio, and Solânea). Fruits were collected at the beginning and end of the street markets and taken to the Laboratório de Biologia e Tecnologia Pós-colheita of the Centro de Ciências Agrárias Campus II, Areia – PB. Samples were evaluated for sensorial quality by nine judges that used subjective scales for color, damage, appearance, and acceptance, and also for physical and physicochemical quality. It was performed counting of the number of fruit at the beginning and end of the period of the street market and applied questionnaires to five street market sellers in order to acquire information about transportation, choice of product, location of origin of the fruit, and education level of the seller. For all street markets it was found that the fruits showed an acceptable commercial standard, however the fruits from Arara were of inferior quality. The municipalities of Remigio and Esperança were those that showed less leftovers papayas, due to the better quality of the fruit as well as the higher sales potential of these fairs. Fruit of ripening stage characterized as green coloration of the skin were less accepted by the consumers in the street markets of Areia and Solânea.