Evaluation of tomato transpiration during post-harvest handling

Abstract

Postharvest handling complements the stages of production, it has the function of maintaining the potential quality of the fruit at harvest obtained during a specific period of time, allowing the marketing of quality products. The markets are adapted to the special needs of traders and small-scale producers. They seek to reduce the existing losses between harvest and consumption. In this study, there were evaluated four varieties of tomato (Moctezuma, Reserva F1, Rafaelo and 7705 variety), which were grown in the Experimental Unit at the Polytechnic University of Tlaxcala West Region. They were sown by two methods (substratum and quilted), to measure the weight loss during post-harvest handling. To evaluate the transpiration three tomatoes were weighed in each variety, using an analytical balance every 24 hours during 16 days. It was found that those four varieties of tomato were adapted correctly in greenhouse production in the two sowing methods. In addition, the weight loss caused by the transpiration was little noticeable during the 16 days of evaluation. The average weight loss was 0.5 g/day in Moctezuma, 0.67 g/day in 7705 variety, 0.52 g/day in Rafaelo, and 0.67 g/day in Reserva F1. Rafaelo variety showed less weight loss due to tomato transpiration.