Effect of post-harvest salicylic acid treatment of 'Angeleno' plum on fruit quality during postharvest storage

Salicylic acid (SA) is a plant molecule involved in a wide range of developmental process in plants, from induced defense mechanism to fruit ripening process. In this work, plums ( Prunus salicina Lindl cv 'Angeleno') were treated with SA at 0.5, 1 y 2 mM by dipping for 10 minutes and the effect on fruit quality and antioxidant compounds during storage was analyzed. Fruit dipped in distilled water for 10 min were used as controls. Following treatments, fruits were drained and stored at 2 degrees C for 7 and 14 days + an addition period of 2 days at 20 degrees C. Ethylene production increased in control fruit along storage, showing the characteristic climacteric ripening pattern of this cultivar, while SA treatment significantly delayed the ethylene production for all assayed concentrations. In addition, SA treatment induced a delay on the evolution of parameters related to ripening and quality, such as acidity and firmness losses, and colour evolution, which could be attributed to the SA effect on inhibiting the ethylene production. Finally, treatments were also effective on delaying the weight losses. Thus, SA could be an innovative treatment to delay the postharvest ripening process of plum fruit and to maintain its quality for prolonged storage periods.