516 Does Diphenylamine Reduce Chilling Injury in Green Bell Peppers?

Abstract

Diphenylamine has been used to reduce low-temperature-induced storage scald of apples for decades. Its effectiveness in reducing scald has been attributed to its antioxidant properties. Oxidative reactions have also been implicated in chilling injury of other commodities, including green bell peppers (Capsicum annuum L.). Diphenylamine was applied as a dip at rates of 500 to 2000 ppm to green bell peppers prior to storing them for 7 days at 1 °C. The development of sheet pitting, the most common visible symptom of chilling injury in bell peppers, was inhibited almost completely by diphenylamine. Diphenylamine, however, only slightly reduced the chilling-induced decrease in chlorophyll fluorescence ratios. Darkening of the vascular tissues of the calyxes and seed darkening, which are also symptoms of chilling injury, were not prevented by diphenylamine. Thus, diphenylamine either did not get into all of the sites of oxidative reactions or some of the manifestations of chilling injury are initiated by processes other than oxidative ones.