Abstract
Strawberry is one of the most highly consumed fruits worldwide, but is extremely perishable. This study systematically compared the effects of chitosan, sucrose, glucose, and fructose immersion on the physiology and disease development in harvested strawberries. After storage at 15 °C for 9 days, all sugar treatment groups had significantly higher total soluble solids and total anthocyanin content than those of the control group. All sugar treatment groups inhibited malondialdehyde accumulation. At the end of the storage, chitosan, glucose, and fructose maintained higher superoxide dismutase activity and chitosan maintained higher catalase activity. The chitosan and glucose groups had lowest fruit decay index, followed by sucrose and fructose groups. The fruit firmness and luster were better maintained in the glucose group. Furthermore, genes related to sucrose metabolism (e.g., FaSUS1 and FaSUS2), titratable acidity accumulation (e.g., FaMDH1, FaMDH2, FaCS1, and FaCS2), disease resistance (e.g., FaPGIP1, FaWRKY1, and FaWRKY33) and to anabolic jasmonic acid and abscisic acid pathways (e.g., FaJAZ1, FaJAZ2, FaOPR3, FaNCED1, and FaNCED2) were regulated to varying degrees, suggesting that chitosan and glucose participate in plants’ immune signaling networks and regulate disease resistance in fruit through hormone pathways. The findings provide new insights into the physiological regulation of harvested strawberries.
Highlights
The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.), known as the “Queen of Fruits,”has both nutritional and ornamental value
The disease spots began to appear on the surface of the strawberries on day 3, and after 5 days, the degrees of softening and decay were significantly greater, as was the decayed area (Figure 3A)
Treatment with 3 g/L chitosan, 5 g/L sucrose, 15 g/L glucose, or 15 g/L fructose clearly delayed the softening of the strawberries on day 11 (Figure 3A)
Summary
The cultivated strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.), known as the “Queen of Fruits,”has both nutritional and ornamental value. Full-bodied in flavor, and rich in nutrition, strawberries are favored by producers and consumers alike [1,2]. Because of their soft flesh and extremely thin outer layer, strawberries spoil and are highly susceptible to mechanical damage and pathogenic infection, all of which cause great losses to strawberry production [3,4]. Chemical fungicides have long been considered the most effective means of preventing and controlling decay in harvested strawberries [10].
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