Effect of calcium treatment on the storability and disease resistance in preharvest bagging mango fruit during room temperature storage

Mangoes tend losses of fruit quality due to ripening and deteriorating quickly during storage at room temperature. In this study, the effect of postharvest calcium treatments with two different concentrations on storability and disease resistance was investigated in pre-bagging mango during storage at room temperature. The results showed that the calcium treatments delayed fruit ripening and decreased fruit sweetness in pre-bagging mango fruit. Both 1% and 2% of calcium treatment could effectively maintain lower level of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) via higher activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and ascorbate peroxidase (APX) during the late stage of storage, which might be beneficial to delaying fruit ripening and enhancing disease resistance in mango fruit. Moreover, a significant decrease in the disease index in calcium-treated fruit might be attributed to the increases in activities of defense-related enzymes and the accumulations of disease resistance-related substances. Practical applications "Keitt" mango is susceptible to fruit fly and deteriorates quickly during room temperature storage. Therefore, finding a complementary postharvest approach to improve fruit storability and quality of mango is beneficial for producers and traders. Calcium is thought to be one of the most important mineral elements associated with fruit quality and storability. Our results suggested that postharvest calcium treatment might be a useful method to improve storability and enhance disease resistance in pre-bagging mango fruit during storage.