Postharvest storage of papaya 'sunrise solo' with the use of chitosan/Conservacao pos-colheita de mamao 'sunrise solo' com uso de quitosana

Papaya is a fruit of great economic, social and nutritional importance. However, due to limited conservation presents post-harvest deterioration and rapid maturation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to use solutions of chitosan associated with glycerol as papaya coating to maintain postharvest quality and prolong its life. The fruits were washed in clean water, cleaned in sodium hypochlorite solution 200 mg [L.sup.-1] for 10 minutes and dried at room temperature. The treatments consisted of immersion or not (control) of the fruits at five different concentrations (0.25%, 0.50%, 0.75%, 1.0% and 1.25%) of chitosan. Elapsed the natural drying of the coating, the fruits were stored at 28 ± 3°C and 65-70% RH. We used a completely randomized design considering the treatments the six concentrations of chitosan with eight replications, totaling 48 fruits. Upon reaching the optimum stage for consumption, it was evaluated the content of ascorbic acid, soluble solids, titratable acidity, firmness, weight loss, fungal development and lifespan. The application of chitosan in papaya 'Sunrise Solo' maintained the firmness, the soluble solids, the titratable acidity, the ascorbic acid of the fruit to the point considered of optimal consumption, in terms of appearance. The concentration of 1% of chitosan maintained quality and increased service life of the fruit in four days. Chitosan inhibited the growth of fungi of the genera Cladosporium, Aspergillus and Penicillium.