Postharvest Treatment of Tropical Fruits Pineapple (<em>Ananas comosus</em>), Mamey (<em>Mammea americana</em>), and Banana (<em>Musa paradisiaca</em>) by Means of a Solar Dryer Designed

The objective of this research was to know the useful life of dehydrated tropical fruits based on a solar dryer designed and developed under the conditions of Calceta, Bolívar Canton of the Province of Manabí, Ecuador. The physical and chemical characteristics exhibited during the radiation dehydration process were satisfactory, in fresh pineapple from 86.36% low humidity to 21.07%, from 0.67% protein to 2.45%, and from 2.05% fiber to 3.73%; in mamey from 79.30 to 21.07%, from 0.41 to 2.55%, and from 2.50 to 4.94%; and in bananas with from 80.22 to 10.35%, from 1.27 to 2.14%, and from 0.88 to 2.42. Microbiological analyses determined the life span of the products estimated at 174, 106, and 109 days, respectively, in pineapple, mamey, and banana. As for the attributes measured with the 1–5 scale of sensory evaluation, the mean treatments of their attributes such as color, sweetness, appearance, and taste were demonstrated where bananas present better color attributes with 4.38; 4.58, sweetness; 4.58, texture;4.68, appearance; and 4.75, flavor. Where significant diffraction can be determined relative to the calculated value p > 0.05 of <0.0001, the R2 statistic in pineapple indicates 48.0814% variability in decreasing moisture pineapple (DMP), and its correlation coefficient is equal to 0.693408; the R2 statistic in mamey indicates 55.6423% variability in decreasing moisture mamey (DMM), and its correlation coefficient is equal to 0.745938; and finally the R2 statistic in banana indicates 56.339% variability in decreasing moisture banana (DMB), and its correlation coefficient is equal to 0.750593, indicating a moderately strong relationship between variables in all cases

Alternativas de siembra del camote (Ipomoea batatas L.) para el canton Jaramiijo, provincia de Manabi

The research was carried out between August 2014 and January 2015 in the Municipality of Jaramijó, Province of Manabí. The objective was to generate technological information regarding (1) varieties, (2) plant spacing and (3) rail lengths in sweet potato growing. In addition, we performed an economical analysis of the 18 treatments, which were distributed in 3 replications using a Randomized Complete Block design and a 2x3x3 factorial arrangement. Through data analysis of factors such as number of guides per plant, foliage production, number of sweet potatoes and fresh roots per hectare, we found that Toquecita variety was more productive than Guayaco Morado. The best combination effect was that of Toquecita variety planted at 0.50 m or 0.30 m between plants, and 0.50 m guides. In economic terms, we recommended Toquecita variety, planted at 0.40 m to 0.50 m and 0.30 to 0.50 m guides, as the alternative with external commercialization and/or industrial manufacturing capability. National consumers also prefer Guayaco Morado variety planted at 0.50 m and 0.40 to 0.50 m guides.El trabajo se realizó entre agosto/2014 y enero /2015, en el cantón Jaramijó, provincia de Manabí, tuvo el propósito de generar información&nbsp;tecnológica relacionada con variedades (2), distancias entre plantas 3) y longitudes de guía (3), en el cultivo de camote; complementariamente&nbsp;se hizo un análisis económico de los 18 tratamientos, distribuidos en tres repeticiones, en un diseño de Bloques Completos&nbsp;al Azar bajo un Arreglo Factorial 2x3x3. El análisis estadístico de los datos: números de guía por planta, producción de follaje y número&nbsp;de camotes y rendimiento de raíces frescas por hectárea que permitieron determinar que la variedad Toquecita fue más productiva que&nbsp;Guayaco Morado, la mejor combinación fue la variedad Toquecita sembrada a 0,50 m o 0,30 m de distancia entre plantas y con guías de&nbsp;0,50 m de tamaño. Económicamente, la alternativa con fines de comercialización externa y/o producción industrial de alimentos recomendada&nbsp;es la de utilizar Toquecita sembrada a 0,40 m o 0,50 m entre plantas y con guías de 0,30 m o 0,50 m de longitud; otra opción&nbsp;que considera la preferencia de los consumidores en el mercado nacional, es la de emplear Guayaco Morado, sembrado a 0,50 m entre&nbsp;plantas y con guías de 0,40 m o 0,50 m de longitud