Methyl jasmonate and polyamines reduce chilling injury symptoms of orange (Citrus sinensis) fruit during cold storage

Abstract: Chilling injury is one of the most important problems of tropical and subtropical fruits during storage that can occur if the temperature falls below 5 ^oC. Polyamines and methyl jasmonate (MJ) are believed to prevent and inhibit chilling injury (CI) during storage. In order to find a suitable treatment to reduce CI of oranges (Citrus sinensis) during cold storage, a research was conducted with two concentrations of MJ and two concentrations of spermidine (Spd) and putrescine (Put) (1 and 1.5 mgL^-1), applied as pre-storage treatments and fruits were stored at 2 ^oC for 1.5 months. Application of MJ and PAs reduced percentages of CI, decay, pitting, physiological decay (PHD), ion leakage, potassium leakage, and weight loss (WL) and firmness in the fruit as compared to control after the storage period. Put at 1 mgL^-1 had significantly lower percentage ion leakage and pH although CI in this treatment was similar to other treatments. Fruit juice density was not affected by any of the treatments.