The effects of methyl jasmonate applications on fruit quality and chilling injury of quince (Cydonia vulgaris)

Quince is a type of fruit that is widely produced in our country and has high export potential. Turkey is the leading country in quince exports and has a share of 41.4% of world exports, but exports only 11% of its production. The important factors that play a role in the low export level are the inability to fully meet the quality standards in the post-harvest period, supply problems throughout the year, and physiological deterioration during storage. Browning of fruit flesh is the most important physiological disorder that significantly affects consumer taste and demand for quince. In this study, the effects of methyl jasmonate (MeJA) application on the storage quality of 'Ege 22' quince variety fruits and fruit browning were investigated. For this purpose, 1.0, 2.5 and 5.0 mM doses of MeJA were applied to the fruits harvested at the optimum harvest time by dipping into the solution prepared at 20 °C for 1 minute. The control group was immersed in distilled water at 20 °C for 1 minute. After the applications, the fruits were stored at 0 °C and 90-95% relative humidity for 5 months. In addition, the endurance of the fruits in the shelflife conditions were examined in the fruits that were taken from the cold storage at certain intervals and kept at 20 °C temperature and 60±5% relative humidity for 7 days. At the end of the study, the highest weight loss was found in the control group, and the lowest weight loss was determined in the 1 mM MeJA application. MeJA applications were found to be effective in the preservation of fruit skin color and the highest L* value was determined in 1 mM MeJA, chroma (C*) and angle (h°) values were determined in 1.0 and 2.5 mM MeJA applications. MeJA applications did not affect the amount of TEA and SSC of the fruits statistically, but the fruits treated with MeJA showed higher flesh firmness at the end of storage. 1.0 and 2.5 mM MeJA were found to be more successful in preserving fruit flesh firmness in shelflife conditions. 1.0 and 2.5 mM MeJA applications were made during cold storage and only 1.0 mM MeJA application in shelflife conditions was more effective in preventing fruit flesh browning. As a result, it has been determined that 1.0 mM MeJA application can be used successfully to prevent fruit flesh browning, which occurs during the cold storage of quinces and causes significant product losses. KEYWORDS: Flesh browning, quality, respiration, storage.