Physical and physico-chemical traits of red pitaya during ripeness

Due to the increase of exotic fruit consumption worldwide, the cultivation of dragon fruit has been favored. To increase the agronomic potential of the culture, knowledge aiming the increase of fruit quality is necessary. The aim of this study was to evaluate the physical-chemical and pyhisical characteristics of dragon fruit during maturation, in order to define the best harvest point. Fresh weight, longitudinal and transverse diameter, skin color, flesh firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, ratio and flesh pH were evaluated. A completely randomized design was carried out, represented by harvest time (days after anthesis). In each evaluation time, seven fruits were harvested, representing the replications, being one fruit per parcel. The averages of each evaluation time were subjected to polynomial evaluation, being selected according to the significance of F test and the coefficient of determination. The best dragon fruit harvest time was observed 41 days after anthesis. At this stage, fruits presented higher weight and higher red skin color intensity, lower flesh firmness, higher contents of total soluble solids and lower acidity.