Effects of hot water incorporated with salicylic acid dips on postharvest quality of 'Holland' papaya fruit during storage

The aim of this work was to determine the effects of quarantine hot water incorporated with salicylic acid (SA+H) dip on postharvest quality of 'Holland' papaya fruit during cold storage at 8 +/- 1 degrees C, followed by 1 day at room temperature (31 +/- 2 degrees C). Skin damage, fruit decay, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS)/total acid (TA) content, tissue electrolyte leakage and skin and flesh color were monitored. The fruits dipped with 4 mM SA+H had severe skin damage since after treatment. The hot water (H) dip, 1 and 2 mM SA+H prevented fruit skin damage and decay. Both H and SA+H treatments delayed fruit softening and the increase in TSS/TA ratio when compared to the untreated fruits. The fruit treated with 2 mM SA+H had the highest firmness. The electrolyte leakage of both skin and flesh of the untreated and fruit treated with 4 mM SA+H was higher than other treatments. Two mM SA+H dip effectively delayed the skin greenness reduction and yellowness increase. Both H and SA+H dips did not affect the fruit flesh color. In conclusion, 2 mM SA+H dip is an alternative maintaining postharvest quality of 'Holland' papaya fruit during the storage.