Pre and Postharvest Treatments to Improve Ponkan Mandarin Fruit Quality 2. Extending Shelf Life of Fruits under Room Temperature Conditions

Abstract

The present study was intended to find a treatment that maintains the quality of the Ponkan mandarin fruits (Citrus reticulata, Blanco) and extends the marketing period under the room conditions. So, nine treatments were arranged in a complete randomized design of three replicates to study the effect of pre-harvest application of putrescine at 0 , 50 and 100 ppm and post- harvested application of salicylic acid at 0 , 200 and 400 ppm, alone or in combinations on fruit characteristics of Ponkan mandarin during storage under room temperature conditions. The obtained results revealed that, salicylic acid and putrescine applications reduced the weight loss (%) and fruit decay (%) and maintained fruit quality in terms of fruit firmness, SSC (%), acidity, SSC/acid ratio and vitamin C during storage at room conditions. Moreover, pre-harvest application of putrescine at 50 ppm plus post-harvest dipping of salicylic acid at 200 ppm or 400ppm (T6 and T7) were able to maintain fruits with acceptable qualities and good appearance during storage under room conditions. So, it can be concluded that using 400 ppm salicylic acid as post- harvest application, alone or in combination with 50 ppm putrescine as pre-harvest application is a beneficial treatment to increase the shelf life period of Ponkan mandarin fruits during short term storage.