Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

CARACTERIZACIÓN DE FRUTOS DE CAIMITO (Chrysophyllum cainito L.) EN EL ESTADO DE MORELOS

2006; Chapingo Autonomous University; Volume: XII; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.5154/r.rchsh.2006.02.019

2007-4034

Juan Emilio Álvarez-Vargas, Irán Alía-Tejacal, Víctor López‐Martínez, C. M. Acosta-Durán, María Andrade-Rodríguez, María Teresa Colinas-León, I. Delgado-Escobar, Óscar Gabriel Villegas-Torres,

Plant Physiology and Cultivation Studies

“Caimito” fruit tree is a native specie from “Antillas” islands well adapted to the tropical regions of Mexico. Because all materials under explotation have not been grafted, there is a great genetic variability among them. In the region of Tetecala and Coatlán del Rio, at the Mexican State of Morelos caimito trees are quite common and they could represent a great potential to diversify the agriculture in the surrounding regions. In the present study, physical, chemical and morphological characteristics of fruits from 20 trees were evaluated. The measured traits were: fruit peel, pulp and seed weight, seed number, fruit length, fruit diameter and its ratio, pH, titrable acidity, total soluble sugars and color characteristics (luminosity, tone and chromaticity). A great variability was observed among the evaluated trees. The most representative variables for grouping were: fruit peel, pulp and seed weight, as well as, titrable acidity and total soluble sugars. The first group was formed by the largest materials (length: 59.5, diameter 59.1 mm) with highest weight (128.9 g), the largest seed number (3.3) and highest soluble solids content (11.7 ºBrix), this group also included the only green peel color fruit, as all the other materials had a dull red color. The second and third groups were formed by materials of lower weight (between 44 and 64 g) and size (40 to 45 mm in length and diameter), with intermediate and high values of soluble sugars (84 to 104 mg·g-1) and the lowest seed number (1.4 to 2.8). Therefore the materials of caimito from the first group have potential for selection and horticultural exploitation.