Physico-chemical characteristics of yellow passion fruit, in three stages of peel color (1/3 yellow, 2/3 yellow and full yellow) were studied at four harvest times in 1999 to determine the optimum stage of peel color to industrialize the fruits. Fruit size, peel and pulp color, pulp yield, pH, total soluble solids and total acidity, ratio and vitamin C contents were determined. A completely randomized experimental design was used, with 8 repetitions, 5 fruit samples and 3 treatments. The pulp yield showed no statistical differences among stages or between crops. The pulp color showed statistical difference between the peel color stages only in the first crop. The 1/3 yellow-peel fruits showed lower total soluble solids than the other stages in the third and fourth crops, but the highest mean value was obtained in the fourth crop. The full yellow peel fruits’s total acidity was statistically lower than for the other stages in the second, third and fourth crops. Highest levels for vitamin C were obtained in the first crop, and the 1/3 yellow peel fruits showed lower vitamin C contents in the first and second crops. The results indicated that, although some physico-chemical differences have been observed during the harvest, fruits from all the stages and crops were considered suitable to be industrialized.
yellow passion fruit; post-harvest; pre-processing quality; vitamin C
