The objective of this work is to evaluate the influence of maturation stage on physical characteristics of yellow passion fruits, in order to indicate the best moment for harvesting in the Fluminense North area. The samplings were accomplished in 52 days after anthesis (DAA), before the first changes of color of the peel has been observed, following in intervals of 54, 56, 58, 60, 64, 66, 68, 70, 76, 83 and 100 DAA. In the last harvest day the marked fruits had suffered abscission during the night. During fruits ripening occurred a progressive increase of Hunter L and b parameters where the inferior area of the fruit presented higher brightness and yellowing index than the superior. The fruits reduced the thickness of the peel until the moment of the color change (64 DAA), with inversely proportional increase of juice yield in this period, taking values higher than 33% which is appropriate for industrialization. It was observed a trend of increase in juice yield to 40% in the fruits with approximately 30% of yellow color peel (68 DAA).
Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa D.; yellow passion fruit
