Effect of benzothiadiazole treatment on quality and anthocyanin biosynthesis in plum fruit during storage at ambient temperature

BACKGROUND Plums tend to experience a reduction in fruit quality due to ripening and they deteriorate quickly during storage at room temperature. Benzothiadiazole (BTH) is a plant elicitor capable of inducing disease resistance in many crops. In this study, the effect of BTH treatment on fruit ripening, fruit quality, and anthocyanin biosynthesis in 'Taoxingli' plum was investigated. RESULTS The results showed that BTH treatment could accelerate fruit ripening without affecting the incidence of fruit decay or the shelf life. Benzothiadiazole treatment improved the quality and consumer acceptability of 'Taoxingli' plums during storage by increasing the sweetness, red color formation, and the concentration of healthy antioxidant compounds. The BTH treatment could also effectively promote the biosynthesis of anthocyanin by enhancing the enzyme activities of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase (PAL), dihydroflavonol 4-reductase (DFR), anthocyanidin synthase (ANS), and uridine diphosphate flavonoid 3-O-glucosyltransferase (UFGT) and up-regulating the gene expressions of PsPAL, PsCHI, PsDFR, PsANS, and PsUFGT during storage. CONCLUSION Benzothiadiazole treatment could be a potential postharvest technology for improving fruit quality and consumer acceptability in harvested plum fruit. (c) 2020 Society of Chemical Industry

Automated summary

The study showed that the BTH treatment accelerated fruit ripening, improved fruit quality, and increased anthocyanin biosynthesis in 'Taoxingli' plums. This treatment could be a potential postharvest technology for enhancing fruit quality and consumer acceptability in harvested plum fruit.