Incremento da coloração avermelhada da epiderme de pêssegos através do manejo nutricional

Abstract

The peach tree is one of the most cultivated temperate fruit trees in Brazil, and its good adaptation has led producers to expand plantings, opting for cultivars aimed at fresh consumption. The consumer market demands that these fruits have an attractive color, as this characteristic is related to the maturation stage, freshness and flavor of the fruit, but the absence of this factor can cause difficulties during the commercialization phase. Temperate climate fruits are usually richer in anthocyanins and carotenoids, which are pigments responsible for coloring. Some elements such as climate, soil, cultivar, and nutritional management adopted can influence the increase in coloration of peaches. Thus, this work aimed to evaluate the effect of different dosages of nutrients applied via foliar application on the color of peach fruit cv. ‘Chiripá’. The analyzed variables were: visual percentage of increment of red coloration in the epidermis of the fruits, determined by the Hue angle from the L.a.b coordinates, diameter, mass, pulp firmness, total soluble solids (TSS) and total titratable acidity. In addition to these factors, the shelf life of the fruits submitted to the treatments was also evaluated. The nutrients used affected the Brix of the fruits during the 2022 harvest, but were not significant in 2023. The total titratable acidity, expressed in TSS, was, on average, 4.58 and 4.23 in the 2022 and 2023 harvests, respectively, not being affected by treatments. The results indicated that the fruits had better coloration in the 2023 season when compared to the 2022 season. In that same year, no significant differences were observed between treatments, but in 2023 treatments 3 (Corona Frutimax®) and 4 (K2SO4) stood out with the best results in the calculation of the Hue angle. In general, the treatments did not contribute, or little contributed, to improve the red coloration.