Jmm. Walder et al., QUALITY EVALUATION OF ONION IRRADIATED IN ARGENTINA AND STORED IN BRAZIL, Pesquisa agropecuaria brasileira, 32(6), 1997, pp. 565-569
The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of the onion c
ultivar Valenciana Sintetica 14, irradiated with 60 Gy and sent by roa
d from Buenos Aires, Argentina, to Piracicaba, SP, Brazil. The irradia
ted onion lot (20 bags of 20 kg each) and the control lot (20 bags of
20 kg each) were stored up to six months at 20 degrees C-28 degrees C
and RH ranging from 50% to 100%. Quality control was made every month
by physical, chemical and sensorial analysis. The radiation treatment
reduced the weight loss of the bulbs and preserved the high percentage
of marketable bulbs without affecting the sensorial properties. After
180 days of storage, the weight loss of unirradiated samples was 32%,
significantly higher than irradiated samples (13%). The percentage of
marketable bulbs was 92.3% for irradiated samples, and 52.3% for unir
radiated samples.