Effects of Salicylic Acid on the Storage Quality and Fruit Softening of Blueberry

To study the effects of salicylic acid on the storage quality and fruit softening of blueberry. 'powderblue' was as the experimental materials, the blueberry was treated with different concentrations of salicylic acid (1.0,2.0,3.0 mmol/L) before harvest. The storage quality and fruit softening changes of blueberry were studied under the condition of (0.5±0.5) ℃ cold storage. The results showed that pre-harvest salicylic acid treatment could reduce the decay rate of fruits, especially the decay rate of fruits treated with 2.0 mmol/L salicylic acid was 21.88% lower than that of the control group after 80 days of storage. Compared with other treatment groups, 2.0 mmol/L salicylic acid treatment group effectively maintained fruit firmness, soluble solids, titratable acid, total phenol, vitamin C and anthocyanin content at a high level, and could effectively delay the increase of pectin methylesterase activity (PME), polygalacturonase activity (PG), galactosidase activity (β-Gal) and cellulase activity (Cx), thereby effectively inhibiting the hydrolysis of fruit protopectin and reducing the accumulation of water-soluble pectin. Conclusion: Preharvest treatment with 2.0 mmol/L salicylic acid can effectively reduce the occurrence of fruit softening by regulating the cell wall metabolism of blueberry fruit, and can better maintain the storage quality of fruit. © 2023 Chinese Institute of Food Science and Technology. All rights reserved.