Bin Wang
Xingfen He
Yang Bi
Hong Jiang
Yi Wang
Xiaoyuan Zheng
Dov Prusky
Pink rot caused by Trichothecium roseum is an important postharvest disease of muskmelon, and caused very serious postharvest losses. In this study, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an exogenous nitric oxide donor, was applied four times during fruit development to muskmelon. The effect of SNP sprays on pink rot in harvested fruit and the influence on the mechanism of antioxidant enzymes and the phenylpropanoid pathway were investigated. The results showed that SNP sprays significantly reduced decay incidence and lesion area of muskmelon inoculated with T. roseum. SNP sprays induced the production of H2O2 in fruit at harvest, maintained cell membrane integrity, and increased the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase during storage. In addition, SNP sprays also increased the activity of phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase, cinnamate‐4‐hydroxylase, and 4‐coumaroyl‐CoA ligase, and promoted the accumulation of total phenolic, flavonoid, and lignin content in harvested muskmelon at harvest and during storage. These results suggesting a new possible way of prevention of postharvest pathogens.
Bin Wang
Xingfen He
Yang Bi
Hong Jiang
Yi Wang
Xiaoyuan Zheng
Dov Prusky
Pink rot caused by Trichothecium roseum is an important postharvest disease of muskmelon, and caused very serious postharvest losses. In this study, sodium nitroprusside (SNP), an exogenous nitric oxide donor, was applied four times during fruit development to muskmelon. The effect of SNP sprays on pink rot in harvested fruit and the influence on the mechanism of antioxidant enzymes and the phenylpropanoid pathway were investigated. The results showed that SNP sprays significantly reduced decay incidence and lesion area of muskmelon inoculated with T. roseum. SNP sprays induced the production of H2O2 in fruit at harvest, maintained cell membrane integrity, and increased the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, peroxidase, and ascorbate peroxidase during storage. In addition, SNP sprays also increased the activity of phenylalanine ammonia‐lyase, cinnamate‐4‐hydroxylase, and 4‐coumaroyl‐CoA ligase, and promoted the accumulation of total phenolic, flavonoid, and lignin content in harvested muskmelon at harvest and during storage. These results suggesting a new possible way of prevention of postharvest pathogens.