Effect of pre-harvest treatment with some nutrients and salicylic acid on some storage characteristics of two strawberry varieties Albion and Camarosa

Abstract

The experiment was carried out in a private refrigerated warehouse to study the effect of some nutrients, salicylic acid spray on the storage ability of strawberry fruits. The study included three factors, the first was two strawberry cultivars (Albion, Camarosa), the second factor included five treatments of nutrient solutions (control, the spray of nano-iron at 10, 20 mgL^-1, riboflavin at 100, and 200 mgL^-1), whereas the third factor is the spray of salicylic acid at three concentrations (0, 100, and 200 mgL^-1). Ripen fruits were taken from the previous treatments and stored in plastic boxes for 10 days at a temperature of 0±1°C and 90-95% relative humidity. An evaluation of the studied characteristics was conducted 10 days after the start of storage. The experiment was lay out as A factorial experiment according to a C.R.D design with three factors and three replications. The results were analyzed using the statistical program SAS (2003) and the means were compared according to Duncan’s Multiple range test at 0.05 level. The experimental results can be summarized as follows:

The Camarosa variety was significantly superior in preserving stored fruits by giving the lowest percentage of damage, weight loss, and the lowest changes in TSS compared to the Albion variety. Riboflavin spray at 200 mgL^-1 gave the lowest percentage of fruit damage, weight loss, and the highest TSS content, whereas this treatment gave the lowest amount of changes in total acidity compared with untreated one. Salicylic acid spray at 200 mgL^-1 was significantly superior in giving the lowest percentage of fruits damage in stored fruits, the least weight loss, and the highest percentage of TSS.