FETENSECA: An alternative to improve the sensory quality of cocoa (Theobroma cacaoL.) cultivar ccn-51

Abstract

The production of cocoa (Theobroma cacaoL.) in Ecuador represents the second most important economic item in agricultural exports, and its competitiveness in the international market is due to the sensory quality of the genotypes produced in the country, a quality that is developed in the post-harvest stage. For this reason, an alternative proposed by the company Agrozhucay, which according to its experience in the industry has produced the FETENSECAmethod, has been evaluated. The objective of the study was to evaluate the method of post-harvesthandling, carried out by the company AGROZHUCAY to improve the quality of cocoa in the canton of La Troncal. The methodology used was a completely randomized block design, 4 treatments with 3 replications, Duncan's multiple range test 5%, significance level equal to 95%. Physical properties and biomolecules were studied using the DPPH and Folin Ciocalteu methods. The results determine that the T3 and T0 treatment presented the best physical-chemical characteristics of the best treatments, recommending these treatments to improve the sensory and physical-chemical quality