Ripening process of Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomato) with ethylene

Solanum lycopersicum L. (tomato) is a product of great importance for the world industry due to its versatility as a fresh and processed product; ethylene is a natural hormone present in fruits and vegetables whose function is to initiate the ripening process. The purpose of the research was to add this phytohormone to accelerate the ripening process in tomatoes. The methodology was based on a dosage of 720000 mg/L of ethylene at a concentration of 100 ppm, the analyses carried out were color, pH, acidity; performing the drying process at temperatures of 105-115-130°C. As results, it was obtained that the process of application of ethylene, accelerated the maturation in 4 days, emitting a color with grade 6 (bright red was more than 90%), the pH was within the parameters established in INEN 2832, CODEX STAN 293-2007 and NMX-FF-031; the acidity is >0.85 (mg. Ac/g); the curve in the drying process fitted best at 130°C with an R2=0.9992, while the drying kinetics was favorable at the same temperature with a drying rate of W=3Kg/m2h. It is concluded that the application of ethylene favors the acceleration of the tomato ripening process with the decrease of the natural time from 20 days to 4 days, while the drying kinetics is favored at 130°C.