Low‐dose prestorage 24‐epibrassinolide spray enhance postharvest chilling tolerance in zucchini squash ( Cucurbita pepo L.) by eliciting peroxidase and phenolic antioxidants

MASSOLO, JUAN FACUNDO; SÁNCHEZ, RAMIRO; ZARO, MARÍA JOSÉ; CONCELLÓN, ANALÍA; VICENTE, ARIEL ROBERTO

JOURNAL OF FOOD PROCESSING AND PRESERVATION

WILEY-BLACKWELL PUBLISHING, INC

Año: 2022

0145-8892

Brassinosteroids are polyhydroxy-steroid hormones, tested to induce cold acclimation in whole plants and some harvested fruit. So far, no works have determined whether such strategy may improve the chilling tolerance of immaturely harvested Cucurbits, which are, among the most sensitive vegetables. Herein, we evaluated the efficacy of 24-epibrassinolide to reduce chilling injury in zucchini squash (Cucurbita pepo L.). Prestorage sprays at a dose 10-100 times lower than reported for postharvest use in other fruit (0.1 µM), markedly reduced chilling injury incidence (ca. 70%) and severity (30-40%), decreased weight loss and delayed yellowing. After long term storage epibrassinolide sprayed zucchini maintained lower electrolyte leakage and lipid peroxidation. The treatment also increased fruit antioxidant defenses by inducing peroxidase and increasing antioxidant capacity, phenolic compounds, and peroxidase activity. This is the first report showing that low dose pre-storage 24-epibrassinolide priming enhances the cold tolerance of immaturely harvested Cucurbits, preventing postharvest chilling injury.