Pre-harvest application of calcium chloride and chitosan on fruit quality and storability of ‘Early Swelling’ peach during cold storage

Abstract

Studies related with the storage of peach fruits have received great relevance in Egypt. In this study, the effect of pre-harvest sprays of calcium chloride and chitosan, separately and in combination, on quality attributes and storability of peach fruits stored at 0±1 °C was studied. 'Early Swelling' peach trees were sprayed twice with 1% or 2% calcium chloride. The first spraying was at pea stage, while the second one was performed at 10 days before harvesting. Chitosan sprays were performed at 0.5 or 1%, alone or in combination with 1 and 2% calcium chloride, at 10 days before harvesting. Untreated trees served as control. Fruits were harvested at maturity stage, then packaged and stored at 0±1 °C and 85-90% of relative humidity. Fruit physical and chemical properties were evaluated at 7-day intervals. Results showed that pre-harvest application with 2% CaCl 2 +1% chitosan was most effective in minimizing weight loss (%) and decay (%), as well as in maintaining maximum firmness and lengthening shelf life. Fruit color was not affected by any of the treatments, while untreated fruits and calcium chloride treatment alone, at both applied concentrations, maintained higher total soluble solids (TSS, %), total phenolic content, and lower titratable acidity percentage.Index terms: Alternative chemicals; CaCl 2 ; quality attributes. RESUMOEstudos relacionados ao armazenamento de pêssego tem sido considerado de grande relevância no Egito. Neste estudo, o efeito da pulverização pré-colheita com cloereto de calico e quitosano, isoladamente ou em conjunto, na qualidade e na capacidade de armazenamento de frutos de pessegueiro armazenados a 0±1 °C foi avaliada. Frutos da variedade 'Early Swelling' foram tratados com 1,0 ou 2,0% de cloreto de cálcio. O primeiro tratamento foi aplicado num estado precoce de formação do fruto enquanto o segundo foi aplicado 10 dias antes da colheita. Quitosano foi aplicado nas concentrações de 0,5 ou 1,0%, isoladamente ou em combinação com 1,0% ou 2,0% de cloreto de cálcio também 10 dias antes da colheita. Árvores não tratadas serviram como controle. Os frutos foram colhidos quando maduros, empacotados e mantidos a 0±1 °C e sob condições de humidade relativa de 85-90%. Propriedades físicas e químicas dos frutos foram avaliadas em intervalos de 7 dias. Os resultados mostraram que a aplicação de 2% CaCl 2 + 1% quitosano foi a mais eficaz em minimizar a perda de peso (%) e a senescência (%), bem como na manutenção da rigidez e aumento do período de vida em prateleira. A cor dos frutos não foi afectada por nenhum dos tratamentos enquanto frutos não tratados e cloreto de cálcio isoladamente, em ambas as concentrações, mantiveram um elevado teor de sólidos solúveis totais (TSS, %), elevado teor de fenóis e reduzida percentagem de acidez de titulação.Termos para indexação: Químicos alternativos; CaCl 2 ; atributos qualitativos.

Effect of Preharvest Applications of Calcium, Anti- Ethylene Compounds and Their Combinations on “Canino” Apricot Fruit Quality and Storability

“…Moreover, calcium salts used to increase Ca ++ content in the cell wall since there is an inverse relationship between calcium level of fruit tissue and the respiratory rate of fruits (Faust and Shear, 1972;Shirzadeh et al, 2011). In addition, calcium salts prevented physiological disorders, reduced the respiration, lessened the pectic substances solubilization, so maintained firmness and slowed down the process of ripening (Salunkhe and Desai, 1984;Burns and Pressey, 1987;Magee et al, 2002;Dunn and Able, 2006;Raese and Drake, 2006;Ishaq et al, 2009;Gayed et al, 2017). Furthermore, the presented results were in line with those obtained by El-Shazly et al (2013) who indicated that the preharvest application of calcium increased yield, firmness and acidity of peach fruits.…”

Quality indices of tomato plant as affected by water stress conditions and chitosan application

“…According to our experiment optimum concentration of chitosan such as 100 and 150 mg L -1 maintained higher firmness of tomato fruit. [23] reported that peach fruit treated with chitosan and calcium chloride decrease the swelling of fruit in early stages, and retained fruit freshness and firmness decreased the percent weight loss as well. The results of our experiment are also in line with by the findings of [24] who found that papaya fruit treated with higher concentration of chitosan resulted in maximum firmness as compared to untreated ones.…”

The Multifunctional Role of Chitosan in Horticultural Crops; A Review

“…Moreover, an increase in the weight of fresh fruit of the kiwi plant was observed after spraying with chitosan in field conditions [ 109 ]. Furtherly, Gayed et al reported that chitosan in combination with calcium chloride reduced the early swelling of peach trees, maintained freshness and firmness of fruits, and decreased the weight loss percentage [ 110 ]. In nectarine, chitosan improved the soluble solid content and also helped maintained the post-harvest firmness of the fruit [ 111 ].…”