Caracterización morfológica y composición físico-química de la fruta Cidrayota (Sechium edule) de la variedad Virens Levis cultivada en los cantones Piñas (El Oro) y Baños (Tungurahua)

Abstract

In Ecuador, christophine is a little known fruit, with little information regarding its morphology and characterization. Therefore, the aim of this research was to characterize morphological, physico-chemical and sensorially the christophine (Sechium edule) variety virens levis cultivated in Piñas (El Oro) and Baños (Tungurahua) cities. An experimental AxB design was used to evaluate the effects of the cultivation zone (a1: Piñas and a2: Baños) and maturity stage (b1: green, b2: pinton and b3: mature). The fruit presented ovoid shape, longitudinal fissures externally and green color, regardless of the cultivation area and maturity stage. On the other hand, the analysis of pulp from Piñas´s christophine showed the following average values: pH 6,41, soluble solids 3,4 Brix degrees and acidity 0,028 (g citric acid per 100 g of sample), and that from Baños: pH 6,25, soluble solids 3,7 Brix degrees and acidity 0,031g citric acid. The water content for the two cities was 92 percent. The pulp from Piñas showed higher content of protein (0,49 percent), fiber (3,13 percent) and carbohydrates (4,21 percent) than that from Baños with protein (0,40 percent), fiber (2,13 percent) and carbohydrates (3,23 percent). It was concluded that the geographical zone and maturity stage significantly affect (α = 0,05) the morphological and physico-chemical properties of the selected samples of christophine. It´s expected that the information generated in this study will promote the development of new products to add value to the fruit.