Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

PERDAS PÓS-COLHEITA DE HORTALIÇAS NO MERCADO VAREJISTA DE CHAPADINHA, MARANHÃO, BRASIL

2018; Volume: 30; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.21757/0103-3816.2018v30n2p127-134

0103-3816

Ana Nayara Sousa, Edmilson Igor Bernardo Almeida, Sabrina Nascimento, Mayara Mendes, Washington da Silva Sousa, Paulo Alexandre Fernandes Rodrigues de Melo,

Agricultural and Food Sciences

Olive groves are important food for the population due to nutritional components, such as vitamins, minerals, carbohydrates, fibers and other nutraceutical substances. In addition, the agribusiness of vegetables contributes significantly on socioeconomic aspects in the agricultural sector. Although it is an activity of great relevance, there are still challenges and bottlenecks that need to be overcome with regard to post-harvest losses, especially in the State of Maranhao, where research on the subject is scarce. In this sense, it was aimed to conduct a survey in the retail market of Chapadinha (MA) in order to identify causes and possible solutions, which will help in specific actions to the sector. The research was conducted in the year 2016, carried out in the twenty main points of commercialization of hortifrutis, situated in Chapadinha (MA). Questionnaires with objective and subjective questions covering aspects related to the handling, storage, commercialization and post- harvest losses of vegetables (lettuce, potato, sweet potato, eggplant, onion, carrot, cucumber, peppers and tomato) were used. At the end of the research, the following order of losses was obtained: eggplant (20.42%)> lettuce (14.34%)> tomato (14.11%)> sweet potato (12.63% 46 98%)> carrot (11.13%)> cucumber (11.05%)> onion (10.44%) sweet potato> (9.27%). The main causes of post-harvest losses identified were physiological disorders and mechanical damage. Therefore, it is extremely important to raise the awareness of the merchants regarding the techniques of conservation and commercialization of vegetables as well as the best planning in the supply of the products.