Abstract

SANCHEZ-GALINDO, Mavet et al. Quality of green and cured vanilla (Vanilla planifolia Jacks. ex Andrews) fruit in relation to its age at harvest. Rev. Chapingo Ser.Hortic [online]. 2018, vol.24, n.3, pp.203-213. ISSN 2007-4034.  https://doi.org/10.5154/r.rchsh.2018.02.004.

The fruit maturity index of Vanilla planifolia Jacks. ex Andrews is considered important to obtain high vanilla quality. In Mexico, the harvest is carried out when the distal part of the fruit turns yellow, but there is no evidence of the benefits of this practice. This research aimed to evaluate the quality of vanilla fruit at 224, 252 and 273 days after pollination, and its relationship with the aroma profile of cured vanilla. Vanilla planifolia flowers were manually pollinated in a commercial plantation and the fruit were harvested on each corresponding date. The evaluated variables were moisture, dry matter and content of sugars (glucose, fructose and sucrose), and in the cured fruit they were vanillin, p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde. The results showed that the dry matter content and the sugar concentration of the green fruit of 252 days were significantly lower (14.92 and 10.6 %, respectively) than in the rest of the treatments. Likewise, in cured fruit of 252 days, the content of p-hydroxybenzoic acid, vanillic acid and p-hydroxybenzaldehyde was significantly lower (103, 855 and 1434 mg ·kg-1, respectively) than those of 224 days of age (148, 1132 and 2035 mg ·kg-1, respectively). The fruit of 252 days had a lower quality, possibly because their harvest coincided with the coldest month, which could affect the accumulation of dry matter and aromatic compounds.

Keywords : p-hydroxybenzoic acid; vanillic acid; p-hydroxybenzaldehyde; vanillin; harvest index.