Effect of pre-storage treatment with a nitric oxide donor on the postharvest quality of cherry fruits

AGUSTINA BUET; LAURA VITA; MALENA MORELL; GRACIELA COLAVITA; NAZARENA SPERA; ANDREA GALATRO

Santa Fe

Congreso; XXXIII Reunión Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal; 2021

Sociedad Argentina de Fisiología Vegetal

It has been reported that NO has a positive effect on fruit quality during postharvest storage. In this work, we analyzed the effect of pre-storage treatment with S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), a nitric oxide (NO) donor, on the quality of cherry fruit (Prunus avium) var. Lapins during postharvest storage at two different conditions. Cherry fruits were treated by immersion in deionized water solution of 0, 0.1 and 0.5 mM GSNO for 5 min and then kept in cold chamber (0.5°C) or in fridge (4-8°C) for fifty days. Fruit samples were collected every ten days and quality parameters (fresh weight, fruit firmness, skin color, titratable acidity, pH and relative water content of peduncle) were analyzed. After thirty days of storage in fridge, treatment with GSNO 0.1 mM led to a retention of fruit firmness (20% higher than control fruits) and reduced the trend to darken of the skin color (HUE angle and chroma) respect to control fruits. When kept in cold chamber, GSNO treated fruits showed slightly higher fruit firmness (7%) than control fruits. Overall, the results show that exogenous NO led to a lesser loss of fruit firmness and had a positive effect on skin color changes, being more relevant in fruits stored in the fridge. These results suggest that exogenous NO treatment could protect cherry fruits facing a challenging environment, in sub-optimal storage conditions (such as fruits kept al 4-8°C).