Methyl jasmonate alleviates chilling injury and keeps intact pericarp structure of pomegranate during low temperature storage

Pomegranate is a kind of fruit with low temperature sensitivity. Abnormal low temperature can easily lead to chilling injury, which negatively impacts the appearance of fruit, accelerates browning and deterioration, as well as seriously reduces the consumption quality and commodity value of pomegranate. This study was carried out to determine the effect of methyl jasmonate on chilling injury of pomegranate during low temperature storage. The result showed that methyl jasmonate treatment effectively maintained edible quality of pomegranate, suppressed the polyphenol oxidase activity and the development of chilling injury index, and inhibited the decline of total phenol content and the increase of malondialdehyde content and cell membrane permeability. In addition, methyl jasmonate could also enhance the disease resistance of fruit by increasing the content of soluble protein, and effectively maintain the integrity of epidermal cell structure and tissue structure. Overall, the conclusion of this paper is that methyl jasmonate can be used as an effective means to suppress chilling injury in postharvest storage of pomegranate.

Keywords: Pomegranate; chilling injury; low temperature storage; methyl jasmonate; microstructure of pericarp.