Preharvest Application of Hexanal as a Surface Treatment Improved the Storage Life and Quality of Mango Fruits

Abstract

Mango is a highly preferred seasonal tropical fruit with a maximum shelf-life of five to seven days. Hexanal is a plant volatile compound assayed in green tissues and showing significance in enhancing storage life and fruit quality attributes by preserving membrane integrity. This experiment explored the effect of the pre-harvest application of an aqueous hexanal composition (active ingredient: 0.02% hexanal) in altering the post-harvest storage behavior of four mango cultivars. The pre-harvest application of the hexanal formulation to the fruit surface twice before the harvest date drastically slowed down the physiological loss in weight by 70% to 80%, and reduced the ethylene evolution rate by two to three folds, respectively. The pre-harvest hexanal formulation spray combined with post-harvest cold storage prominently improved the storage life along with the total soluble solids, total sugars, ascorbic acid and carotenoid content compared to untreated fruits stored in ambient conditions. Though ripening coincides with the increased activity of enzymes, the hexanal formulation spray acts predominantly in bringing down the activities of fruit softening enzymes viz. pectinmethlyesterase (43%) and polygalacturonases (37%), and antioxidant enzymes viz. peroxidase (67%) and catalase (45%), respectively.