Brassinosteroids Improve Postharvest Quality, Antioxidant Compounds, and Reduce Chilling Injury in ‘Arrayana’ Mandarin Fruits under Cold Storage

Abstract

‘Arrayana’ mandarin is one of the most cultivated citrus species in Colombia, but this fruit has a short postharvest life and is sensitive to chilling injury (CI) during cold storage. Generating strategies that decrease CI to mandarin can reduce quantitative and qualitative losses postharvest. Brassinosteroids (BR) have been used as a sustainable technology to alleviate CI in fruits and improve postharvest quality. This study evaluated the effect of applying the 24-epibrasinolide analogue (EBR), at doses of 5 mg L−1; DI-31 analogue, at 5 and 10 mg L−1; and control, on the main physical and biochemical characteristics of ‘Arrayana’ mandarin stored at 4 °C for 40 days and, subsequently, 7 days at room temperature (shelf life). The application of EBR and DI-31 analogues reduced the appearance of CI in the exocarp of ‘Arrayana’ mandarin fruits by reducing electrolyte leakage, maintaining membrane integrity, and increasing antioxidant activity and phenol content at the end of cold storage and shelf life. This was especially pronounced with 5 mg L−1 of EBR. Similarly, the BR maintained the postharvest quality of mandarins by reducing weight loss, respiratory intensity, and chlorophyll degradation; increasing β-carotene; and maintaining titratable acidity and soluble solids. Our research reports, for the first time, CI tolerance in Arrayana mandarin using natural (EBR) and spirostanic (DI-31) analogues and illustrates the tolerance functionality of the DI-31 analogue on CI in the fruit postharvest.