The most common box used for harvested vegetables in Brazil is the wood one which was used for kerosene transporting during second world war, in 1945. This box causes mechanical damage and reduces vegetables shelf-life and quality, due to its rough surface allowing pathogen colonization, due to the excessive number of fruit layers, and due to the lateral cut openings. Considering the problems of the K box and the necessity of protecting tomato fruits, Embrapa Hortaliças began in January 1997 a research to develop an adequate box to protect tomato fruits. The definitive box, named "Embrapa box", was compared with the K box and the most common plastic boxes from the market. The weight, shelf-life, color, mechanical damage, firmness, relative water content and deterioration were evaluated. The damage was significantly different and lower in the Embrapa box, reducing post-harvest losses in tomato fruits.
Lycopersicon esculentum L.; box; vegetable; post harvest losses
