Perdas na pós-colheita do mamão papaya (Carica papaya L.) em diferentes feiras do Município de São Luís- MA

Abstract

Although it is a production chain most affected by post-harvest losses, fruit culture has a large in the agricultural sphere, as it is responsible for introducing economic and social growth in several areas in Brazil. In São Luís do Maranhão, research in this segment, specifically on papaya, is scarce, which demonstrates the need for data exposure for a better understanding of the causes of these losses. Therefore, this study aimed to identify and quantify post-harvest losses of papaya (Carica papaya L.) sold in different fairs in São Luís - MA. The survey was carried out between the months of June and July 2021, as it was conducted in accordance with the fairs: Cidade Operária, Cohab, João Paulo and São Bernardo. For this purpose, a structured socioeconomic questionnaire was used according to the preliminary information containing objective and subjective questions, which included aspects about the fruit procedure, means of transport, storage, amount of discarded fruit and main causes of disposal; some questions were asked directly to the marketer and others to the observer to obtain greater precision of the facts. The description of the quality of the stallholders was verified, evaluating the knowledge of the conservation methods, storage environment, handling of the exposed fruits and casual agents of each fair. The main diagnostic causes of postharvest losses were phytopathological and mechanical losses due to excessive consumer handling