Jujube post-harvest fruit quality and storagability in response to agro-chemicals preharvest application

Abstract

The present study was conducted on Peyuan jujube cultivar (Ziziphus Mauritania Lamk) during the two successive seasons, 2010 and 2011 at Research and Agricultural Experimental Station, King Saud University, Saudi Arabia in order to investigate the effects of preharvest application of putrescine (Put), gibberellic acid (GA3), salicylic acid (SA), naphthalene acetic acid (NAA), cytofex (CPPU) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) on fruit yield, ripening date and quality at harvest and after cold storage at 5°C and 85 to 90% relative humidity (RH). Fruits were sprayed once three weeks before harvest (at the beginning of fruit color break) when they reached a diameter of 6 to 7 mm. Data showed that, the latest harvest was obtained with NAA followed by GA3 and CPPU treatments and then SA and CaCl2. The CaCl2 and NAA gave the shortest harvest spread (period). All agro-chemical substances gave the lowest yield percentage at the first harvest date, while at the second harvest date, GA3, putrescine (Put) and SA sprays resulted in the highest yield followed by CPPU and then NAA applications. At the third harvest date the NAA, GA3, Put and CPPU gave the highest yield percent followed by SA and then CaCl2. Fruit vitamin C, total soluble solids (TSS), acidity, firmness and quality grade increased significantly by all treatments as compared with the control either at harvest time or after cold storage. The percentage of fruit weight loss, commercially unacceptable peel as well as, fruit browning index tended to decrease with all sprayed substances. Key words: Jujube, fruit quality, storagability, agro-chemicals, pre-harvest application.