Rootstock–scion interaction mediated impact on fruit quality attributes of thick-skinned melon during storage under different temperature regimes

Abstract

Grafting is a technique widely utilized to enhance the tolerance of melon against various abiotic and biotic stresses and improve fruit quality and crop production. Melon is a popular Cucurbitaceae crop around the world due to its unique taste and aroma. Improved postharvest fruit quality with prolonged shelf-life is important to ensure the supply of melon in the market. In this study, we evaluated the postharvest fruit quality of melons grafted on ten pumpkin rootstocks during storage at room temperature (25°C ± 2°C) and cold conditions (10°C ± 1°C). We investigated several physiological, biochemical, and anti-oxidative parameters related to postharvest fruit quality. These quality parameters were evidently affected by the use of different rootstocks, storage temperature, and storage duration. The melon fruits obtained from Tianzhen No. 2 rootstock had no weight loss and relatively lower titratable acidity (0.21%), malic acid (0.84 mg/g), and total phenolic (15.96 mg/g) contents compared with other grafting combinations after 7 days of room storage. Moreover, Yinguang rootstock-grafted melon fruits showed relatively higher total soluble solids (15.40°) and sucrose (169.30 mg/g) but lower malic acid (0.97 mg/g) and total phenolic (15.31 mg/g) contents after 28 days of cold storage. The melon fruits grafted on Tianzhen No. 2 with membership function value (0.67) and Yinguang rootstock (0.66) ranked 1st regarding overall fruit quality attributes after short-term room-temperature and long-term cold storage, respectively. Considering the results of our study, the use of rootstock helped maintain the post-harvest fruit quality during storage and extended the shelf life of melons. Thus, the use of rootstocks along with other post-harvest storage techniques can be a potential research area to improve the storage life of melon fruits.