Preharvest Abscisic Acid Application to Alleviate Chilling Injury of Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum L.) during Cold Storage

Abstract

<jats:p>Fresh-cut sweet basil (<jats:italic>Ocimum basilicum</jats:italic> L.) is highly sensitive to low temperatures during postharvest storage. This study investigates whether preharvest foliar application of different concentrations of abscisic acid (ABA) can increase tolerance of the commercial basil varieties ‘Di Genova’ and ‘Nufar’ to chilling injury (CI) during postharvest storage at 3.5 °C and at 7 °C. Experiments were conducted under greenhouse and commercial open-field conditions in southwest Florida during the 2017/2018 growing season. Our results showed that greenhouse-grown plants were less affected by CI during 9 days of storage at 3.5 °C when treated with 1000 mg/L or 1500 mg/L ABA and at 7 °C storage compared with the water control, but effects varied by experiment. Preharvest applications of 1000 mg/L ABA were sufficient in reducing CI during cold storage at 3.5 °C in basil grown under open-field conditions; however, at 7 °C postharvest storage, chilling-induced damage did not differ between ABA and untreated plants. Electrolyte leakage analysis of leaves confirmed the beneficial effects of ABA on alleviating chilling-induced injury. Under greenhouse conditions, preharvest applications of 1000 mg/L ABA were more effective when plants were harvested at 1300 or 1530 <jats:sc>hr</jats:sc> than at 1100 <jats:sc>hr</jats:sc>. Our results suggest that 1000 mg/L foliar preharvest applications of ABA in combination with afternoon harvest are an effective strategy to alleviate CI damage during postharvest storage at temperatures less than 4 °C and to extend the shelf life of greenhouse or field-grown, fresh-cut basil.</jats:p>

Regulation of the biosynthesis of endogenous nitric oxide and abscisic acid in stored peaches by exogenous nitric oxide and abscisic acid

“…Similarly, exogenous ABA application increased ABA levels and improved sugarcane cold resistance . These results may be helpful for reducing the CI of fruits during cold storage …”

“…44 These results may be helpful for reducing the CI of fruits during cold storage. 22,45 NO can interact with phytohormones and act upstream or downstream of the corresponding signaling cascades. 46 Exogenous melatonin treatment increased the content of NO in tomato roots under alkali stress, whereas exogenous NO had little effect on melatonin levels; also, melatonin-induced NO alkali tolerance increased, suggesting that NO was a downstream signal involved in melatonin-induced tolerance to alkali stress in tomato.…”

Potential Benefits of Silicon Nutrition to Hydroponically Grown Sweet Basil

“…Sweet basil is a globally important herb crop grown for its unique aroma and flavor (Akbari et al, 2018). Basil is in the mint family (Lamiaceae) and comprises more than 60 species native to tropical regions (Satpute et al, 2019). Field-grown basil is sensitive to cold stress during early spring and fall in temperate regions.…”

Light regulation of quality and growth of basil

“…An increase in ABA and JA have been found to be beneficial for the plant to overcome abiotic stress such as cold stress (Hu et al, 2017;Prerostova et al, 2021). Application of exogenous ABA in basil (Satpute et al, 2019) and JA in Arabidopsis (Hu et al, 2013) and JA in blood oranges (Habibi et al, 2019) increased chilling tolerance functioning upstream of the CBF pathway.…”

“…Numerous of natural and synthetic chemical components have been investigated to improve tolerance to low temperature. Examples of application of chemical components during cultivation include; ascorbic in tomato plants (Elkelish et al, 2020), treatments of tomato roots with H2O2 (İşeri et al, 2013), proline in chickpea (Kaur et al, 2011), ABA in basil (Satpute et al, 2019). Chemical components can also improve chilling tolerance when they are applied during the postharvest phase.…”