Post-harvest quality of fig fruit cultivated under in intensive pruning system in the Gurgueia valley

Abstract

This work aimed to evaluate the post-harvest quality of fruits of the fig cultivar ‘Roxo de Valinhos’ in two pruning
times and three ripening stages, under the edaphoclimatic conditions of the semiarid region of the Piauí state.
The experiment was carried out in the educational orchard of the Federal University of Piauí, Campus Professora
Cinobelina Elvas, Bom Jesus, Piauí, Brazil. A completely randomized design (CRD) was used, with 4 replications,
in a 2 x 3 factorial scheme, with treatments corresponding to two pruning times (April 2018, of the rainy season,
and December 2018, the beginning of the rainy season) and three fruit ripening stages (Green Intermediate,
and Ripe), using 5 fruits per experimental plot and performing chemical analyzes in triplicate. The pruning
carried out in April (end of the rainy season) significantly influenced the post-harvest quality of the fig fruits, with
greater weight (34.17 g fruits), transverse diameter (42.21 mm), luminosity (57.92°), and HUE angle (80.73° ), when
compared to the pruning carried out in December (beginning of the rainy season), with weight (26.58 g fruits),
transversal diameter (39.83 mm), luminosity (52.53°), and HUE angle (73.60°). The cultivation of fig trees in the
semiarid region of Piauí showed promising results with the anticipation of the crop cycle with pruning performed
in the dry season.