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

BUET A; MORELL M; SPERA N; VITA L; COLAVITA G; GALATRO A

Congreso; XXXIII Argentinian meeting of plant physiology; 2021

SAFV

It has been reported that NO has a positive effect on fruits quality during postharvest storage. In this work, we analyzed the effect of pre-storage treatment with S-nitrosoglutathione (GSNO), a NO donor, on the quality of cherry (Prunus avium) var. Lapins during postharvest storage at two different conditions. Cherry fruits were treated by immersion in 0, 0.1 and 0.5 mM GSNO for 5 min. The treated fruits were packed in bags and boxes and kept in cold chamber (0.5°C) and in fridge (4-8°C). Fruits samples were collected every ten days up to fifty days and quality traits were analyzed. After thirty days of storage, treatment with GSNO 0.1mM led to a lesser loss of fruit firmness and higher a* and chroma values of skin color when fruits were kept in fridge. When kept in cold chamber, GSNO treated fruits showed higher fruit firmness than control fruits. The results as a whole 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 challenging conditions, in sub-optimal storage conditions (such as fruits kept al 4-8°C).