The coating based on carrageenan gum (CRG) was applied to guava (Psidium guajava) fruits to improve their postharvest quality. The coated fruits were stored for 15 days at 20 +/- 1 degrees C and 85-90 % RH. CRG-based coating markedly reduced fresh weight loss and incidence of decay. On 15th day, 1 % CRG-coated fruits had 32.6 % lower moisture loss and 16-35 % lower decay in comparison with uncoated fruits. The rates of respiration and ethylene synthesis were similarly suppressed, with 1 % CRG-coated fruits showing 32.9 % lower respiration and ethylene rates of 11.73 mu l kg- 1 h- 1 vs. 17.57 mu l kg- 1 h- 1 in controls. CRG treatments moderated ripening, evidenced by slower increases in TSS (9.2 % vs. 10 % in controls) and sugar-acid ratio (16.04 vs. 25.75), and better retention of titratable acidity (0.57 % vs. 0.39 %). Oxidative stress markers were reduced in 1 % CRG fruits, including malondialdehyde (0.053 mM kg- 1) and H2O2 (20.74 mu M kg- 1). Antioxidants (ascorbic acid 111.86 mg & sdot;100 g- 1, phenolics 297.61 mg kg- 1) and structural components (protopectin 14.50 g kg- 1) were better preserved, alongside higher antioxidant enzyme activities. Activities of the enzymes related to cell wall degradation were also suppressed. Overall, 1 % CRG coatings effectively maintained fruit quality, delayed ripening, and enhanced shelf life, as supported by physiological, biochemical, and organoleptic evaluations.

Harvested mango fruit undergoes different metabolic changes and ripens quickly, thereby showing a short shelflife. In this work, the effect of Acacia seed oil-based nanoemulsion (AONE), as an organic edible coating, was investigated to extend the postharvest life of mango fruit. Mangoes were coated with 3 mu L/mL AONE (v/v), and stored at 20 +/- 1 degrees C for 20 days (d). The results indicated that the particle size of AONE emulsions was nanoscale having higher stability demonstrated by their zeta potential, and it substantially suppressed the growth of Penicillium digitatum, Aspergillus niger, and Aspergillus flavus. Further, the AONE coating suppressed weight loss, respiration rate, ethylene production, and disease incidence, along with markedly lower superoxide anion (O2 center dot-), and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) contents in coated mango fruit. Besides, AONE maintained higher ascorbic acid, total phenolics, antioxidant capacity, and antioxidant enzyme activities. The AONE-coated group exhibited preserved firmness and higher concentration of cell wall stability-related [cellulose (CS), protopectin (PP), and hemicellulose (HCS)] attributes due to suppressed activity of pectin methylesterase (PME), polygalacturonase (PG), cellulase (CLS), and /3-galactosidase (/3-gal) enzymes. The biochemical and sensory attributes of AONEtreated mangoes remained substantially better in comparison with the controls. In conclusion, AONE-based edible coating could be used to delay softening and extend the postharvest life of mangoes.

Soil, water, and air contamination threatens agricultural sustainability and poses serious risks to human health. Long-term irrigation with sewage water (SW) leads to the accumulation of heavy metals in agricultural soils, with lead (Pb) being among the most prevalent contaminants. This pot experiment evaluated the bioremediation potential of calcium sulfate (CaSO₄) in alleviating Pb stress in tomato plants. Experimental treatments included (i) irrigation with fresh water (FW), (ii) with sewage water (SW), (iii) with SW + 0.75

Ber (Ziziphus mauritiana L.) fruit exhibits a short storage life due to its rapid ripening, susceptibility to oxidative stress, enzymatic browning, and tissue softening. Carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) coating has a substantial role in inhibiting the maturation process, oxidative breakdown, and decay incidence in fruit during storage. It is widely recognized as an effective edible coating due to its excellent film-forming ability and semi-permeable barrier properties, which are superior to many other biopolymer and natural cellulose coatings in reducing moisture loss and maintaining postharvest quality. Therefore, the present study was executed to investigate the pre-storage influence of CMC in maintaining physiochemical characteristics and enhancing the defensive mechanism of ber fruit cultivars i.e., Umran and Pak White, during ambient storage. Fruits were subjected to different concentrations of CMC (control, 0.25 g/hg, 0.5 g/hg, and 1 g/hg) for 5 min and stored at ambient storage for 12 days. Results exhibited that 1 g/hg CMC-treated fruit, at 12-day ambient storage, had lower weight loss (29.14%), decay incidence (25.50%) compared to Pak White fruit, which had lower weight loss (39.87%) and decay (36.72%). The treatment had a considerable effect on postponing the ripening process through keeping lower total soluble solids (26.72 °Brix) and ripening index (33.87%) in ‘Umran. Moreover, the CMC coating maintained greater levels of ascorbic acid and total phenolics, and lower levels of oxidative stress indices, such as electrolyte leakage (37.23%), hydrogen peroxide (10.16 μmol/g), and malondialdehyde (3.89 nmol/g). Moreover, the antioxidant enzyme activities (SOD, POD, CAT, APX) were stimulated, whilst softening enzymes like polygalacturonase (10.46 nkat/mg FW) and cellulase (16.00 nkat/mg FW) were notably inhibited. Overall, these findings indicate that CMC coating is an effective postharvest strategy to reduce decay incidence, delay ripening, and mitigate cellular disintegration and tissue softening by strengthening antioxidant defense mechanisms, thereby maintaining the quality of ber fruit under ambient storage conditions.

Low temperature is one of the best approaches for extending the storage life of different fruit types. However, tropical fruit such as sapodilla is susceptible to chilling injury (CI) during cold storage. In this study, exogenous (150 & micro;mol L-1) dopamine (DA) effect on CI and related quality attributes was investigated on sapodilla during storage at 5 degrees C for 35 d. The results revealed that DA reduced CI, disease incidence, suppressed metabolic activities, and inhibited the increase in oxidative stress-related attributes, including malondialdehyde (MDA), relative ion leakage (RIL), superoxide anion (O-2(center dot-)), and hydrogen peroxide. The DA treatment resulted in higher activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD), as well as ascorbate-glutathione (AsA-GSH) cycle-related attributes such as glutathione reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase, dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), and monodehydroascorbate reductase (MDHAR) activities. Furthermore, the concentration of ascorbic acid (AsA), glutathione (GSH), and oxidized glutathione (GSSG) was preserved higher, along with lower dehydroascorbic acid (DHA) content. The DA-treated sapodilla exhibited higher total flavonoids, total phenols, and titratable acidity, along with substantially lower soluble solids content and sugar acid ratio. In brief, our results indicated that pre-storage DA could alleviate CI in sapodilla fruit during cold storage by alleviating oxidative stress and preserving antioxidative system activity.

'Fuyu' is one of the major persimmon fruit cultivars which is widely admired due to its non-astringent nature. However, it is highly susceptible to rapid softening and quality deterioration during postharvest storage, primarily due to enhanced respiratory activity and degradation of cell wall components. This study evaluated the effect of albizia gum-based edible coating (4.5 % w/v) on the postharvest quality of persimmons stored at 20 +/- 1 degrees C for 20 d. The results showed that albizia coating reduced weight loss, suppressed respiration rate and ethylene production, and reduced membrane permeability, as indicated by lower membrane leakage, superoxide anion, hydrogen peroxide, and malondialdehyde content. In addition, coated fruit showed substantially higher activities of antioxidant enzymes such as ascorbate peroxidase (APX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and peroxidase (POD), showing improved oxidative stress mitigation. Albizia gum coating also reduced the activities of cell wall-degrading enzymes, including polygalacturonase (PG), cellulase (CS), and pectin methylesterase (PME), thereby preserving higher firmness. The coated fruit exhibited lower water-soluble pectin (WSP) and retained higher cellulose, hemicellulose, and protopectin content. The fruit coated with albizia coating also showed better biochemical and sensory attributes. These results suggest that albizia gum coating delays postharvest softening through a multifaceted mechanism involving modulation of respiratory metabolism, preserving antioxidant system activity, and suppression of cell wall disassembly. So, albizia gum coating could be applied to retard postharvest softening of persimmon during postharvest storage.

Codling moth (Cydia pomonella L.) is an insect of apple which causes serious economic damage due to premature fruit drop (PFD). PFD is an important cause of fruit loss in apples and has been recognized as a serious problem in apple production for many years. It is affected by various horticultural and climatic factors. Specific areas of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) have conducive meteorological conditions that facilitate successful apple growth. However, so far no attempts have been made to deal with this problem in AJK. Insecticides are considered effective agents for alleviating abiotic stresses and delaying PFD. A 2-year study (2021-2022) was undertaken in Dheerkot, AJK, to assess the impact of three insecticides, cypermethrin, biphenthrin, and acetamiprid (each at 250 mL/100 L), on PFD and postharvest quality of three apple varieties. Insecticide treatments were administered as foliar sprays with a low-pressure hand sprayer following 70%-80% petal fall. Untreated apple trees served as the control group. Five branches were tagged on different sides of each tree in order to study the influence of insecticides. All insecticide treatments not only reduced codling moth infestation but also minimized the PFD and maintained the postharvest quality of apples. However, apple trees sprayed with biphenthrin (250 mL/100 L) showed minimum codling moth infestation (5.33%) in Star Crimson apples. Apples treated with biphenthrin showed a significant (p <= 0.05) decrease in PFD and improvements in fruit size, weight and overall yield. Star Crimson demonstrated superior performance relative to other varieties across the majority of indicators tested. The findings indicate that biphenthrin application effectively manages codling moth infestations, reduces PFD, and improves the postharvest quality of apples.

This study aims to investigate the effects of postharvest melatonin (ML) and salicylic acid (SA) applications on fruit quality and biochemical properties in tomatoes. The potential synergistic effects were investigated by applying these compounds to the ‘Depar’ tomato variety grown in Bolu in the 2024 production season. The tomato fruit that were mature and free from physical damage were selected and sterilized according to predetermined criteria. Afterwards, ML and SA solutions (1 mM) were sprayed on each fruit and then the fruit were stored at 5 ± 0.5 °C and 90 ± 5

Calcareous soils are nutritionally poor, being a barrier to plants growth and development. Biochar (BC) has been increasingly applied as poor soil supplement to boost crop growth and yield. However, the use of spent mushroom substrate (SMS)-derived BC for such a purpose is still uninvestigated. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the potential use of SMS-derived BC in the improvement of tomato attributes grown in calcareous soil. The effects of different concentrations of SMS-derived BC (control (0

This study investigates the potential of 5 % pullulan (PUL)-based edible coating to extend the shelf life and maintain the postharvest quality of 'Furongli' plums stored at 25 ± 2 °C and 75-80 % relative humidity for 12 days. PUL-coated plums exhibited 31 and 72.7 % lower weight loss rate and disease incidence compared to uncoated plums after 12 days of storage, respectively. The coating significantly reduced oxidative stress markers, including MDA (22 %), H2O2 (25.3 %), and O2•- (25.1 %), while improving membrane integrity by reducing electrolyte leakage by 18 %. Additionally, the coating delayed carotenoid degradation by 81.3 % and preserved the fruit's visual appearance by reducing hue and chroma changes by 31.7 % and 30.8 %, respectively. Firmness was better maintained, along with reduced respiration and ethylene production in coated plums. Biochemical analysis revealed that PUL coatings enhanced antioxidant defense by increasing both the activities and gene expression of antioxidant enzymes (SOD, POD, and CAT) and maintained higher levels of ascorbic acid, total phenolics, flavonoids, and overall antioxidant activity. The coating preserved cell wall components like hemicellulose, cellulose, and protopectin while limiting increases in water-soluble pectin, thus delaying fruit softening. Additionally, PUL coating reduced activities and gene expression of pectin-degrading enzymes (PME and PG). Quality parameters, including TSS, TTA, and TSS-acid ratios, remained stable in coated fruits, ensuring better flavor and marketability. Overall, the study highlights the potential of PUL-based coatings for large-scale postharvest application, offering a sustainable and effective solution to extend fruit shelf life and reduce storage losses.

Mangoes were treated with dopamine (200 μmol L-1) and stored at 5 °C for 28 days (d). Samples were taken at 7 d intervals and subsequently subjected to 3 d shelf storage at 20 °C to evaluate the effects of dopamine on chilling injury (CI), oxidative stress markers, membrane permeability, lipid peroxidation, antioxidant system activity, γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA) shunt, proline metabolism, and cell wall degradation. Dopamine treatment reduced disease incidence, CI symptoms, oxidative stress, respiration rate, ethylene production, malondialdehyde content, membrane permeability, and degradation of cell wall components. Conversely, treated mangoes exhibited enhanced activities of antioxidant enzymes, elevated levels of proline and its related enzymes, and increased GABA content along with higher activities of its biosynthetic enzymes. In contrast, untreated mangoes showed higher total soluble solids and higher cell wall-degrading enzyme activity, whereas dopamine-treated mangoes maintained higher titratable acidity. In conclusion, dopamine improved chilling tolerance and preserved the postharvest quality of mango.

Drought stress is a global problem. It is well established that it is a threat to almost all types of crops, including vegetables. Plant scientists have developed various strategies to deal with this menace. One of these strategies is to screen out tolerant genotypes which can withstand the stress. Chilli (Capsicum frutescens Mill.) is one of the most important horticultural crops used as a condiment all over the world. Chilli plants are susceptible to water-deficient conditions. Therefore, this study was conducted to screen out the available chilli germplasm for drought tolerance. In this study, 30 chilli genotypes were used to screen against drought stress. These chilli genotypes were screened under in vitro conditions using four different levels (0, 5, 10 and 15%) of polyethene glycol-6000 (PEG-6000) solution, which were applied to seeds during germination. Drought stress induced by these levels of PEG-6000 solution indicated that all the studied parameters (germination percentage, average root and shoot lengths, average root and shoot fresh weights and average root and shoot dry weights) were negatively affected. On the basis of the results, chilli genotypes including Chilli Hot Queen, Advanta-509, Divya, HM-78, Hot Queen, High Fly 2 and Kot Sultan were found to be drought-tolerant genotypes. Whereas, HHP-091A, HHP-082B, Zenia, Acc.32362, Hot Red, C.K.D-2204, Sky Red, Sky Star 4, Sky Line 2, Kuni, Ghotki, Talhari, Amber, Red Giant, Hot Flame, Loralai and Pusa Jawala were drought-sensitive genotypes under in vitro conditions.

Praecitrullus fistulosus (Stocks) Pangalo is one of the nutrient-rich vegetables crops with proven therapeutic value. This study was designed to investigate the inheritance of important physiological and biochemical traits of Praecitrullus fistulosus. A set of 15 cross combinations were developed from five lines and three testers and evaluated for two years. The results depicted significant (p < 0.05) variation among the genotypes (parents and crosses) with respect to flavonoids, phenolic compounds, total carbohydrates, vitamin C, and carotenoids during both studied years. Data were analysed with traditional line × tester analysis for inheritance pattern, and the genotypes (parents and hybrids) were further analysed using polar plots for heterosis and gene action, and principal component biplot analysis for graphical explanation of combining abilities. The physiological traits, i.e., flavonoids, antioxidants, and total soluble proteins, showed significant means square values and general combining ability for genotypes, i.e., 20 and 47. The F1 hybrids 20 × 42, 8 × 63, and 20 × 40 showed high and significant specific combining ability for flavonoids, antioxidants, vitamin C, and carotenoids. GCA, SCA, and the PCA biplot also showed comparable results. The studies of heterosis using polar plots showed the preponderance of overdominance for the majority of traits. Conclusively, both conventional and graphical attribution of data using line × tester analysis could lead Praecitrullus fistulosus breeders to the selection of suitable breeding methods.

Freshly harvested jujube fruit is prone to prompt surface reddening thereby resulting in rapid ripening and senescence. In the current study, fruit were treated with almond gum (10 %) and stored for 15 days (d) at 20 +/- 1 degrees C to investigate the impact of said edible coating on the ripening and softening of jujube. It was observed that almond gum application inhibited loss in physiological weight and reduced rotting rate concomitant with higher chlorophyll contents along with lower surface reddening and total anthocyanins accumulation. The almond gum treatment showed reduced oxidative stress related indicators as well as preserved membrane integrity and suppressed accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA). In the same way, metabolic activities such as respiration rate and ethylene production were substantially suppressed which in turn resulted in reduced increase in the activity of cellulase (CX), pectin methylesterase (PME), R-galactosidase (R-gal) and polygalacturonase (PG) enzymes. The delayed increase in hydrolase enzymes activity in almond gum coated fruit ultimately resulted in higher firmness as well as CDTA-soluble pectin (CSP), Na2CO3 soluble pectin (NSP), protopectin (PRN), hemicellulose and cellulose along with reduced content of water soluble pectin (WSP). In addition, almond gum treatment was also effective in suppressing the decline in ascorbic acid content and titratable acidity (TA) and delaying the prompt increase in total soluble solids (TSS) and ripening index (RI) along with better sensory quality. In conclusion, almond gum could be used to delay softening of fresh jujube fruit during storage.

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a potential signaling molecule that plays numerous vital roles in the development, growth, ripening, oxidative stress, and senescence of produce. H2S application has effectively delayed quality loss and extended the potential shelf life of horticultural crops. It regulates horticultural crop shelf life by reducing physiological aging and oxidative stress, inhibiting ripening, suppressing senescence, and reducing postharvest decay of stored produce. It also catalyzes the expression of defense-related genes and induces disease resistance, eventually leading to markedly reduced postharvest losses. Therefore, H2S application has reportedly extended vegetable and fruit storage life and conserved postharvest eating quality attributes. This review summarizes the potential role of H2S in regulating postharvest physiology and conserving the quality of horticultural crops such as fruits, vegetables, and flowers. Its potential and detailed roles in quality conservation, postharvest physiology, disease resistance, and storage life prolongation are discussed.

Broccoli is a well-known and high-value vegetable crop for its abundance of antioxidants and minerals. Despite its popularity, its production faces significant challenges from various abiotic stressors, particularly drought stress. Melatonin a multifunctional molecule within plants modulates environmental stresses including drought stress. Therefore, the current study aimed to evaluate the effect of melatonin application (0 and 100 μM) on broccoli under 100% field capacity (FC) (well-watered) and drought stress (50% field capacity). Foliar application of melatonin helped overcome drought-induced losses and enhanced plant height (23.72%), root length (43.47%), total chlorophyll contents (46%), carotenoids (60%) and yield (34.23%), glycine betaine (GB) (77.7%), whereas reducing the oxidative activities of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) (20%) and leaf water potential (LWP) (33.35%) in broccoli plants. Antioxidant activities, i.e., superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxide (POD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate (APX) were further enhanced under melatonin treatment with 28.53%, 26.10%, 35.26%, and 33.33% respectively. Melatonin application significantly increased gas exchange characteristics by increasing stomatal conductance. Pearson correlation matrix and biplot were developed for the determination of trait association and treatment performance. Exogenous melatonin application decreased the oxidative damage brought on by the drought and increased the yield of broccoli.