Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
extended the shelf life of the fruits, whereas temperatures
higher than 52
◦
C blocked ripening irreversibly.
parks in Brazil. With compact and dense canopy, it is used
as ornamental hedges in the United States and Australia.
In Hawaii, the demand for pitanga increased dramatically
during the course of the 12 Trees Project (Love et al., 2007).
This was partly attributed to the awareness created by the
project with chefs who were unfamiliar with this common,
locally grown fruit. Hawaii jelly manufacturers had also
requested large quantities of this fruit.
Pitanga has not been as intensely studied as acerola.
Superior commercial varieties have not been selected and
developed. Although the first studies are showing this fruit
to be very rich in bioactive compounds, compositional stud-
ies are lacking. Industrial processing is also lagging behind,
with only frozen pulp and bottled juice available for com-
mercialization in Brazil.
Composition and changes during ripening
The proximate and micronutrient composition of Ameri-
can cherimoya is shown in Table 29.1, revealing marked
differences with those of the other three fruits discussed
in this chapter. The water content is lower, while the total
protein, lipid, ash, and carbohydrate contents are higher.
Dietary fiber is higher than that in acerola and cashew ap-
ple, comparable to pitanga; potassium is higher but vitamin
C is lower than in the other three fruits.
A total of 208 volatiles were identified in cherimoya,
of which 23 were hydrocarbons, 58 esters, 54 alcohols, 47
carbonyls, and 26 of miscellaneous structures (Idstein et al.,
1984).
Ripening in cherimoya is characterized by a sharp early
decrease in flesh firmness and a large increase in both sol-
uble solids, soluble sugars, titrable acidity, and malic acid
(Merodio and de la Paz, 1997; Sanchez et al., 1998b). Dur-
ing 4 days of ripening of Spanish cherimoya at 22
◦
C, the
total soluble solids increased from about 8.3
◦
to 22
◦
Brix,
while pH declined from 6.2 to 4.3 (Gutierrez et al., 1994).
Metabolic changes include starch hydrolysis with concomi-
tant accumulation of glucose and fructose and degradation
of cell walls. The activities of invertase, polygalacturonase,
and cellulase showed maxima coinciding with the climac-
teric maximum in respiration and the beginning of the most
pronounced rise in ethylene production (Sanchez et al.,
1998b).
Fruit and plant characteristics
The plant is a large shrub (often referred to as a tree) that can
reach heights of 6-12 m. The trunk is irregularly shaped and
divided into branches. The leaves are glossy green, ovate
to lanceolate, up to 4 cm long, and slightly copper colored
when young. One to four fragrant small white flowers are
found together in a leaf axil with an average of 50 stamens
(Silva, 1996; Bezerra et al., 2000; de Lira Junior et al.,
2007; Love et al., 2007).
The fruit is 2-3 cm in diameter, 1.40 cm in length, weigh-
ing 3-4.8 g (Ctenas et al., 2000; Bezerra et al., 2000; Love
et al., 2007). It is thin skinned, deeply divided into seven
or eight longitudinal segments (ribs), and has one to three
seeds. It is green when young, turning to orange and then to
bright red (common fruit) or dark purple-black when fully
ripe. The taste ranges from sweet to sour, depending on
the cultivar and level of ripeness (sweet when darker red to
black, tart when green to orange). The sweet, juicy flesh is
considered refreshing by some but rather strange by others
due to its resinous flavor.
Pitanga is usually propagated by seeds, but unlike
acerola, the fruits have much less variation. Grafting is
possible but seldom employed, although superior fruits are
produced.
In Brazil, defined varieties are not known (Bezerra et al.,
2000) with the exception of 'Tropicana' (de Lira Junior
et al., 2007), which weighs on average 3.0-4.5 g, has two
to three seeds, and has dark red glossy skin, reddish pulp,
9
◦
Brix, and 2.2% acidity.
PITANGA
Pitanga (
Eugenia uniflora
L. or
Eugenia michelii
Lam.)
belongs to the
Myrtaceae
family (Silva, 1996). It is also
known as Surinam cherry, Brazilian cherry, and pumpkin
cherry (in Hawaii). Indigenous to Brazil, the main pro-
ducer currently, it can be found practically throughout the
country, but commercial production is concentrated in the
northeastern states of Pernambuco and Bahia.
Pitanga is cultivated in other countries of South
America (Uruguay, Argentina), Mexico, the Caribbean,
United States (Florida, California, Hawaii), China, India,
Sri Lanka, Madagascar, South Africa, Israel, and some
Mediterranean countries (de Lira Junior et al., 2007).
Highly adaptable, this plant flourishes in locations where
other fruit crops are difficult to establish. In Hawaii it is on
the state's invasive species list (Love et al., 2007). Because
the plant is easy to grow and resistant to urban conditions, it
is often found as an ornamental plant in home gardens and
Harvesting, postharvest handling, and processing
Fruit production generally commences 2 years after plant-
ing, increasing up to the sixth year, after which it stabilizes
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