EFFECT OF STORAGE ATMOSPHERE AND TEMPERATURE ON SOLUBLE SOLIDS IN MAMEY AMARILLO (Mammea americana L.) FRUITS

Mamey amarillo (Mammea americana L.), also known as mammee-apple, is a delicious fruit of the Guttiferae family. It originated in the northern part of South America and is now distributed from Florida to Brazil. It was already mentioned in the 1500s by Christopher Columbus and Gonzalo Hernandez de Oviedo y Valdez (Popenoe, 1920; Morton, 1987; Hoyos, 1994). The fruit is oblate to round (4-6 inches in diameter); it has a leathery skin with a slightly rough and russet surface, one to four large seeds and bright yellow juicy flesh of firm texture (Salazar, 1965). The fruits are often harvested at the mature ripe stage, but mature green fruits ripen well in 3-4 days after harvesting (Morean, 1994). Ripeness is indicated by slight yellowing of the skin (Morton, 1987), and at full maturity, the flesh beneath the skin is also yellow. The fruit contains 11.5-12.7% total carbohydrate and is also rich in vitamin A, thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, ascorbic acid and minerals such as Ca, P and Fe. The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of storage conditions on the total soluble solids and other quality attributes of mamey amarillo fruits harvested at the mature green stage.