Effect of potassium permanganate on some postharvest characteristics of tomato
2014
Salamanca, F.A. | Balaguera-López, H.E. | Herrera, A.O.
The tomato is a highly perishable climacteric fruit whose ripening processes are fast. Ethylene absorbers composed of a mixture of clay and potassium permanganate (KMnO4) are a good alternative to eliminate ambient ethylene during the storage of fruits and vegetables. For KMnO4 to be effective, it must be adsorbed to a vehicle (or carrier) that forms a solid absorber, easily manageable and which increase the effective contact area. The objective was to evaluate the effect of KMnO4 on the behavior of some postharvest physical characteristics of the ‘Chonto’ tomato. We used a completely randomized design to evaluate three doses of zeolite (0.5, 1.0 and 1.5% based on fresh weight) and three concentrations of KMnO4 (0.5, 1 and 1.5% based on fresh weight), plus one control treatment. The fruits were selected in the field and harvested at maturity 1 (100% green) with an average firmness of 50.93 Newton (N), 4.47 of °Brix, and total titratable acidity (TTA) of 1.11%; and therefore a maturity index of 4.01. Then, the fruits were stored in the postharvest laboratory at the National University of Colombia at room temperature (18ºC and 85% relative humidity) for 28 days in commercial TPT packaging (Thermoformed polyethylene terephthalate); physicochemical variables were evaluated. The treatment with zeolite clay 1% + KMnO4 1% showed the lowest fresh weight loss, meanwhile in the zeolite 1.5% + KMnO4 0.5% treatment, the fruits exhibited greater firmness values. The lowest value of total soluble solids was presented with zeolite 1% + KMnO4 1.5%, while the highest acidity was seen in the zeolite 1% + KMnO4 0.5% treatment. Ethylene absorbers composed of zeolite and KMnO4 retard the ripening of ‘Chonto’ tomato fruits.
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