Preharvest Sodium Nitroprusside Application Preserved Antioxidant Capacity and Storage Quality of Plum Fruit

Plums are climacteric fruit in nature and rapidly lose their quality during storage. To improve the storage potential and maintain the fruit quality of plum cv. Satluj Purple, the plum trees were sprayed with 50 µM and 100 µM Sodium Nitroprusside (SNP) at 7 and 14 days before harvest (DBH), while control plants were sprayed with water. Fruit were harvested at colour break stage and packed in CFB boxes (5% perforation) with paper lining and stored at (0–1 oC and 90–95% RH) for 35 days. Preharvest application of 50 and 100 µM SNP at 14 DBH preserved the quality of plum fruit by reducing the weight loss (WL), spoilage, total anthocyanin content (TAC) and enzymatic activities of pectin methyl esterase (PME) and cellulase. These treatments also helpful for retention of sensory quality (SQ), fruit firmness, total phenolics content (TPC), total antioxidants activity (TAO), total flavonols (TF) along with soluble solids content (SSC) and titratable acidity (TA) of stored plum fruit. It can be summarized from the result that preharvest spray of 50 and 100 µM SNP at 14 DBH has the potential to enhance the storage life and preserved the storage quality of plum fruit cv. Satluj Purple during low temperature storage.