The technology known as Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is being used to identify to the ideal stage to harvest mangoes in irrigated areas by the mid-lower São Francisco river. Adapted by Embrapa Semi-arid Region, the equipment is capable of establishing the precise point when the fruit must be removed from the mango orchard in order to achieve consumption quality within 20 days, the time needed so that the product reaches distant markets in Brazil and abroad, such as the United States, Europe and Asia. The use of the technology meets an important demand from production systems: a fast and reliable means to determine mango quality that does not destroy the fruits. It is a much more advantageous procedure than the conventional methods currently used in the region, which usually not only involve the loss of large amount of fruits to be tested but also require time and specialized labor. The Embrapa researcher Sérgio Tonetto de Freitas explains that, in the traditional methods, a fruit sample is collected for a destructive analysis of firmness and pulp coloration and to obtain the juice used in the assessment of soluble solid contents and titrable acidity. Such work is intensive and expensive, due to sampling and assessment procedures, and there is even the risk of not being representative of the commercial lot. “Hence the need for non-destructive methods, such as NIRS, which is simultaneously reliable, precise, fast, robust and does not generate waste”, he asserts. How it works For four years, Embrapa Semi-arid Region has been investigating the use of Near-infrared, operated by an equipment called spectrophotometer, which uses the infrared's electromagnetic radiation as a way to determine the fruit's physical and chemical characteristics in fractions of seconds, as it shows the values obtained on the screen in real time. The sensitivity of the equipment provides measurements that can precise the physical and chemical constitution of the fruits, which differ according to genotype, orchard management, stage of development and place where they are produced. The technology has been applied to the main mango cultivated varieties (Tommy Atkins, Palmer and Keitt) in the environmental conditions of the lower middle São Francisco river valley. For that purpose, thousands of data needed for an effective calibration and validation of the use of the equipment were measured and analyzed. The fruit quality parameters assessed are dry matter, soluble solids (Brix), and starch contents, titratable acidity, pulp firmness, and rind and pulp color. After undergoing a statistical treatment, this large volume of data originated the calibration models, which are already available for farmers and entrepreneurs in the region. They are loaded into the spectrophotometers, so that they can be used to determine the quality of the fruits. Nowadays such devices are found in small portable versions at affordable prices in the market, and they can be attached to a computer, cell phone or tablet. “This is another factor that weighs in favour of acquiring the equipment, which has a large potential to support quick decision-making during the day to day activities of agroindustries or rural properties”, the Embrapa researcher states. According to Tonetto, it is essential that the equipment is calibrated with information that is specific to the mango genotype and place of cultivation. Otherwise, as the assessments made at Embrapa Semi-arid Region's Laboratory of Post-Harvest Physiology have shown, a margin of error of around 4% to 10% can occur, a range far above the measurements obtained by the equipment when it is duly calibrated, which is of only 0.5% for given quality parameters. Measuring fruit sweetness Tonetto also considers another advantage of using NIRS the possibility of considering other important aspects that generally are left out of assessments in light of the difficulties of the conventional methods. That is the case of dry matter and starch contents, which, when measured at the time of harvest, allow the farmer to anticipate sugar content and hence the flavor that the fruits will have when they reach consumers. Therefore, they can harvest or classify the fruits with more assured quality, or choose to adopt agricultural practices that increase the amount of such contents in the fruits in their orchards. Determining the ideal dry matter and starch contents at the time of harvest is being investigated by Embrapa in partnership with Bahia State University (Uneb). For that purpose, fruits with different contents of the compounds are harvested and, once they ripen, they are submitted to sensorial analysis by consumers, with the aim of identifying the fruits with better acceptance in the market. “Such parameters are already being studied and determined in other mango producing countries that compete with the São Francisco valley. In this context, the search for alternatives that can improve national mangoes in the international market becomes important to increase the competitiveness of the Brazilian fruit”, the researcher highlights. Competitive commercial strategies “A region that has more than 25,000 hectares with mango trees, and is the main exporter of this fruit in the country, needs to clearly signal the sustainability of its production systems and the quality of the fruits harvested and taken to the market. That will be the only way it will be able to keep competitive commercial strategies for the domestic and foreign markets”, Tonetto affirms. For him, this research is opening new ideas about quality and consumer satisfaction. “A satisfied consumer ensures the fruit will be purchased more often and stimulates consumption”, he emphasizes. The new stages of the ongoing research include the use of this alternative by consumers, as cell phones and tablets with the Near Infrared technology reach the market. A database, with information inserted in the memory of the app installed in the cell phone, will allow the consumer be as assertive as an expert in their choice of fruits that have good flavor and no internal flaws, explains the researcher Sergio Tonetto de Freitas. Future in the cell phone In the near future, mobile devices such as cell phones will start to have apps capable of making near instant readings of fruit quality. In other words: the consumer will have an appropriate resource to dissipate inevitable doubts they will have by supermarket shelves or fairs, facilitating the choice about which product they should acquire. Translation: Mariana Medeiros.