Efecto del calcio y cera comestible en la calidad de mangos 'kent' durante el almacenamiento Effect of calcium and edible wax overall 'kent' mangoes during storage

‘Kent’ mangoes is one of the main commercialized varieties in the word, nevertheless its perishable character reduces its shelf life. The objective of this work was to study the effect of different calcium applications, wax and combinations of both on the post-harvest life of mango fruits. The applied treatments were: control (I), wax (II), 0.5% CaCl2 (III); 0.5% CaCl2+wax (IV); 1% CaCl2 (V) and 1% CaCl2+wax (VI). Respiration rate, general appearance and weight loss were evaluated daily, while firmness, color of the pulp, total soluble solids, pH, titratable acidity, calcium content in the peel and the pulp were determined at 3-days intervals. The experimental design was a completely randomized blocks with factorial arrangement 3x2. Data were analyzed with program NCSS. The treatments with solutions of CaCl2 to 0.5 and 1%, combined with edible wax, demonstrated to cause apparent damages neither to the fruits nor to the physical-chemical characteristics. The behavior of the quality parameters presented a normal tendency waited in the maturation of the fruits with increments in the pH and the SST, likewise a decrease in the AT. Firmness in the fruits diminished according to the time of storage and retention of the same one was not obtained with the application of calcium. Results demonstrate that applications of 0.5% of calcium combined with edible wax can reduce the respiratory rate and loss of weight and can improve the external appearance without affecting the quality parameters of the fruits during the storage for 15 days at 20oC.