Abstract
Peaches are well-liked amongst the stone fruits in Pakistan. The peach industry faces significant losses, from harvesting to marketing. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of foliar sprays of salicylic acid (SA) on the fruit quality of peaches (cv. ‘Flordaking’) at the harvest and postharvest life or stages. Different concentrations of SA (control, 1, 2 and 3 mM) were sprayed on the plants at three growth stages of fruit, i.e., the cell division, cell enlargement and pit-hardening stages. In general, all the SA treatments improved the fruit quality at harvest and maintained higher levels of flesh firmness, titratable acidity and ascorbic acid during storage. However, fruit weight loss, soluble solid contents, membrane leakage, chilling injury, color development, disease and decay incidence and the climacteric peak of ethylene were lowered by SA treatment after six weeks of low-temperature storage. SA at a 3-mM concentration was proven to be the most effective in maintaining the quality for a longer period of time during low-temperature storage. Based on the results, it can be concluded that the application of SA at fruit development stages can improve the harvest quality and storability of ‘Flordaking’ peaches.
Highlights
Peaches and nectarines are known to lose their quality rapidly after harvest, especially when stored at ambient conditions [1]
The results obtained from this study indicate that the salicylic acid (SA) treatments were beneficial in delaying degradation of ascorbic acid content during storage
The results of this paper report for the first time the pre-harvest treatments of SA on the improvements of the fruit quality at harvest and maintaining it during storage by reducing chilling injuries and ethylene production, resulting in firmer fruit
Summary
Peaches and nectarines are known to lose their quality rapidly after harvest, especially when stored at ambient conditions [1]. The cold storage of harvested peaches is indispensable to reduce the quality loss and excessive softening and to prolong the time for marketing by lowering the incidence of decay [2]. Low-temperature storage slows down the ripening and protects the fruit from disease and rotting incidences. Peaches face the problem of chilling injuries when stored at a low temperature for an extended period [2]. The symptoms of chilling injuries include flesh browning, flesh mealiness and woolliness [4].These symptoms normally appear when peaches are kept at room temperature following extended low-temperature storage. Flesh browning is considered as a main chilling injury (CI) symptom caused by the oxidation of phenolics, which leads to the discoloration and rotting of fruits, limiting the storage life and causing appreciable economic losses [4]
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