The Effect of Foliar Application of Different Concentrations of Calcium on the Fruit Quality of Golden Delicious Apple Before Harvest

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Researcher of Miandoab Agricultural Research and Natural Resources Station, West Azarbaijan, Iran

2 Corresponding authors and Associate Professor, Department of Agrothechnology, Faculty of Agricultural and Natural Resources Mahabad Branch, Islamic Azad University, Mahabad, Iran

3 Ph.D. in Crop Physiology, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Shahed University, Tehran

4 Ph.D. Student in Horticulture, Faculty of Agriculture, Mohaghegh Ardabili University, Ardabil, Iran

Abstract

Introduction: Apple (Malus domestica Borkh.), belongs to the Rosaceae family and is one of the most important economic fruits in the world. Apple trees grow best in well-drained, deep, and fertile soils, and the availability of nutrients influences the overall yield and quality of fruits produced in orchards. The importance of increasing calcium in apple fruit to improve its quality has led to research in major apple production areas around the world. Calcium is a critical component in maintaining the hardness of fruits during storage, as it is responsible for the integrity of the cell. Thus, the softening of the fruit may result from the loss of calcium in the middle of the plate and/or its absence in the bonds between the peptic molecules. When treated during the pre-harvest period, the entrance of calcium into fruits delays the fruit’s softening and ripening rate, thereby slowing down the decay of cell walls. The pre-harvest use of calcium can slow down the aging of fruits without adversely affecting the consumer quality of fruits. The preferred method to increase the calcium concentration of the fruit is to apply foliar application of various calcium compounds before harvesting. In this research, the effects of foliar application of different calcium compounds on the quality parameters of Golden Delicious apple fruit were evaluated.
Material and methods: In this study, three different calcium compounds including calcium chloride (CaCl2), calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) and calcium oxide (CaO) in concentrations of 0.5%, 1% and 1.5% and control (distilled water) were used to evaluate the effects of calcium on the quality characteristics of Golden Delicious apples. This design was implemented as a factorial experiment based on randomized complete blocks in three replications. The experiment was recorded at two harvest times and after 4 months of storage in the refrigerator (4 ͦ C and 85-95% relative humidity).
Results and discussion: Results and discussion: Based on the results obtained from the two experiments, the traits affected by different sources of calcium fertilizer and the interaction effects of calcium fertilizer sources were not concentrated. According to the results, different concentrations had a significant impact on the studied traits. The mean comparison results indicated that with the increase in the concentrations of calcium sources, the fruit firmness traits (4.87% and 8% at harvest and 4 months after storage, respectively) and organic acid (0.67% and 0.38% at harvest and 4 months after storage, respectively) increased. Additionally, with the increase in the concentrations of calcium sources, the total soluble solids (13.06% and 11.95% at harvest and 4 months after storage, respectively) and pH (3.61 and 4 at harvest and 4 months after storage, respectively) had the lowest values. Overall, spraying calcium sources at a concentration of 1% at harvest effectively improved the fruit quality and storage capability of the Delicious apple variety.
Conclusions: Based on the observations made at the time of harvesting and after storage in cold storage, high concentrations of fertilizer sources, especially in the treatment of 1.5%, caused burns and damage to fruits. Therefore, despite the effectiveness of these treatments in increasing the firmness of the fruit compared to the control, the use of this concentration is not recommended. Since there was no burn effect at the concentration of 1% and it had a greater effect on increasing the firmness of the fruit texture than other treatments, it can be used as a result. Foliar application was used at harvest time and 4 months after refrigeration, and this concentration showed its efficiency in this experiment.

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References

منابع
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