The research work was aimed at evaluating the effect of storage temperatures and plastic packing on jilo (Solanum gilo Raddi) cv. 'Tinguá' conservation. The experiment was set up in a complete randomized design with three replications and five fruit/replications. The fruits were stored at 25 °C (openenvironment); 13 °C and 5 °C), wrapped or not wrapped in bags of low density polyethylene (LDPE) with 80 µm thickness. Loss of fresh mass, chilling injury, peel color, total soluble solids content (TSS) and tritable total acidity (TTA) were evaluated. Daily losses of fresh mass reached 2.37%, 0.91% and 0.84% in the fruits stored without LDPE protection at 25 °C, 13 °C and 5 °C, respectively while the same losses in wrapped fruits were significantly smaller, in the same temperature conditions (0.079%, 0.037% and 0.029% respectively). Fruits stored at 25 °C, with no plastic packing presented the smallest TSS contents, while those with LDPE showed the highest values for the trait. A linear increase of TTA values was observed in wrapped fruits (5 °C and 13 °C) and a quadratic one at 25 °C; in the unwrapped ones, the smallest TTA values were detected at 25 ºC along with fast changes in peel color. Chilling injury symptoms were present in fruits stored at 5 °C, in all cases, after six days of storage.
Solanum gilo; chilling injury; plastic film
