INFLUENCE OF COCOA SEEDS DAMAGED BY PESTS ON FERMENTATION

Witches' Broom (WB) and Black Pod (BP) are cocoa tree diseases that are difficult to eliminate consequently, healthy seeds (HS) are often mixed with damaged ones during fermentation. The aim of this research was to evaluate the influence of mixing damaged seeds on cocoa fermentation. Cocoa pods were harvested, broken and the seeds with pulp were fermented in Ilhéus/BA. Five experiments were carried out in triplicate: 100% of the seeds with WB (WB100), BP (BP100), HS (S100) and boxes with 50% of the HS + 50% damaged seeds (WB50 and BP50). The temperature, total soluble solids (TSS) and pH were monitored every 12 hours (h). The end was defined by a drop in temperature and an increase in pH. The fermentation time of the BP100 experiment was the shortest (64h), while HS was finalised at 136h and WB50 the longest (160h), reaching the highest temperature (45.73 °C). The rise in temperature in the WB100/50 and BP100/50 experiments may have been influenced by the contamination of insects and the activity of microorganisms in the fruit, releasing more heat. The maximum TSS content (15.21° Brix) in the HS100 experiment on the first day of fermentation. About the pH, all the experiments showed an increase during fermentation. The HS100 experiment had an average pH of 3.65 (time zero), while the WB100/50 and BP100/50 experiments were around 3.93 to 4.83, indicating a higher initial pH for BP100 when compared to the others. We conclude that fermentation in the HS100 experiment started with a higher TSS content in the pulp. The WB100/50 and BP100/50 experiments reached the highest temperatures and pH. With regard to fermentation time, it can be seen that damage to the fruit prior to the start of fermentation accelerated the process.