CARACTERÍSTICAS DEL FRUTO DE VAINILLA VERDE Y BENEFICIADA COSECHADOS A DIFERENTE EDAD

Abstract

Vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Jacks. Ex Andrews) is a spice whose demand has doubled in the last two decades, reaching high prices. Traditionally, Mexican vanilla growers harvest the fruit from 32 weeks after pollination (WAP). However, due to the high prices of the cured fruit, theft has increased, which has led to harvesting shortly after 20 WAP. In order for the vanilla fruit to develop its characteristic flavor and aroma, after harvesting it undergoes a processing process, however, there is no information on how the early harvest affects the quality of the processed fruit. For this reason, in order to provide vanilla growers with information that helps them make the decision to opt for the best vanilla harvest age, in this work the quality of the green and benefited fruit of different ages was evaluated. For this, 400 flowers of a commercial vanilla plantation in Coxcatlan, San Luis Potosí, Mexico were pollinated and the fruits were marked to be harvested at the age of 20, 24, 28 and 32 weeks after pollination (WAP) and the quality characteristics of green and cured fruits (dimensions, sugar content, macro and micronutrients) were evaluated. The results showed that there are no significant differences in the weight, dry matter and dimensions of the fruits at different age, but the yield of green fruit to cured of 20 WAP is reduced 8.24 times, while in fruits of 32 WAP was 5.57. It is observed that there is a greater accumulation of all sugars (fructose, glucose and sucrose) at 28 WAP with 25.8%, which are drastically reduced in the cured fruit (4.39%). The content of macro and micronutrients increases as the age of the fruit advances, particularly from 24 WAP, with Ca, K, Mn and Fe being the most abundant.