AVALIAÇÕES FÍSICO-QUÍMICAS EM FRUTOS DE DIFERENTES GENÓTIPOS DE ACEROLA (MALPIGHIA PUNICIFOLIA L.)

The objective of this work was to evaluate chemical and physicochemical characteristics of fruits of 12 west indian cherry (Malpighia punicifolia L.) genotypes undergoing a selection process at Embrapa Cassava and Fruit Crops, aiming to identify those with high vitamin C content and total soluble solids (TSS)/total titratable acidity (TTA) ratio. Fruits were harvested at the half mature stage in the September/October harvest, in 1997 and 1998. The results showed values ranging from 835 to 1,820 mg of ascorbic acid per 100 g of pulp, 6.0 to 11.6% for the TSS, 0.69 to 1.65% for the TTA, 4,24 to 11,59 for the TSS/TTA ratio and 3.08 to 3.57 for the pH. Among the genotypes studied, CMF022 and CMF019 presented the highest vitamin C content and the lowest TSS/TTA ratio, whereas CMF015, CMF008 and CMF010 had the highest TSS/TTA ratio, in 1997 and 1998.