NOTE - THE EFFECT OF ETHEPHON ON THE COLOR, COMPOSITION AND QUALITY OF MANGO (MANGIFERA-INDICA CV KENT)

Mango cv Kent, as grown on the Yucatan Peninsula, despite its satisfac tory ripening, pleasant flavour, correct pulp colour and general accep tance, shows a skin without the characteristic red-yellow colour of th e regular ripe fruit; it remains green and this makes it slightly unat tractive to the consumer. On the other hand, ethylene and some other c omponents such as Ethephon, have been used to homogenize the ripening in many fruits and to improve its colour. This work shows the results of the effect of nine different treatments with Ethephon on the colour , composition and quality of mango cv Kent. Fruit was treated by immer sion in solutions of Ethephon at three different concentrations (500, 1500 and 2000 ppm) and for three different lengths of times (3, 6 and 9 min). The colour improvement depended upon the concentration and tim e of the treatment with Ethephon. In general, it was found that treatm ent with Ethephon had a significantly positive effect on the colour of the mango skin, as it caused the degradation of chlorophyll, which ga ve the appearance of the characteristic yellow and red colours to 100% of the fruit treated with 2500 ppm. Treatments influenced significant ly the chemical composition of the pulp, particularly the concentratio n of total soluble solids, reducing sugars, carotenoids, vitamin C and acidity. The best sensorial acceptance was obtained from treatments w ith 1500 ppm.