Physical and chemical characteristics of accesses of Spondias tuberosa Arr. Cam

Abstract

The caatinga is a biome rich in biodiversity occupying an area of about 11% of the national territory, in asemi-arid climate, with typical Brazilian xerophytic vegetation, and. The umbu tree (Spondias tuberosa Arr. Cam.) is an endemic species of this type of vegetation that presents great economic importance, as an alternative source of income, especially in drought periods.Thus, this work had the objective to characterize, physically and chemically, the umbu fruits. Ten fresh fruits of umbu were used, from 10 trees in five municipalities in the state of Bahia, Brazil (Anagé, Belo Campo, Brumado, Caraíbas and Macarani), totaling 100 fruits per municipality. The evaluations were carried out at the Plant Breeding and Production Laboratory of the State University of Southwest of Bahia in March 2016. The following biometric characteristics were analyzed: length, diameter, fruit and endocarp thickness, fruit mass, peel mass, pulp mass, endocarp mass, and also total soluble solids, pH and titratable total acidity. Data of independent samples were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by the t test, at 5% probability. Variability of the physical and chemical characteristics was observed. The fruits from the municipality of Macarani stand out in relation to length, width, fruit thickness, total fruit mass, peel mass, pulp yield, pH and soluble solids which confer desirable quality for in natura consumption and industrial processing.