Plant-specific WRKY transcription factors (TFs) have been implicated to function as regulators of leaf senescence, but their association with postharvest leaf senescence of economically important leafy vegetables, is poorly understood. In this work, the characterization of a Group IIe WRKY TF, BrWRKY65, from Chinese flowering cabbage (Brassica rapa var. parachinensis) is reported. The expressio...

Pitaya (Hylocereus undatus) is a non-climacteric fruit that reaches its best eating quality when harvested ripe, decreasing thereafter during storage (CHIEN et al., 2007). As a new crop, there have been limited studies focused on extending the postharvest quality of pitaya fruit. The main postharvest problems of pitaya fruit are mechanical injury, chilling injury, decay, and water loss (NERD et...

Postharvest senescence and associated stresses limit the shelf life and nutritional value of vegetables. Improved understanding of these processes creates options for better management. After harvest, controlled exposure to abiotic stresses and/or exogenous phytohormones can enhance nutraceutical, organoleptic and commercial longevity traits. With leaf senescence, abscisic acid (ABA) contents p...

Industry concerns over insect resistance, regulatory action, and the needs of organic processors have renewed interest in nonchemical alternative postharvest treatments to fumigants used for California tree nuts. The development of inexpensive polyvinyl chloride containers capable of holding low pressures has increased the practicality of vacuum treatments for durable commodities such as tree n...

Phytosanitation regulations in several international markets require postharvest treatments to control codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae), in various commodities. Thermal treatments are gaining acceptance to replace chemical fumigation. Determining the most thermal-tolerant life stage is essential in the development of effective postharvest insect control protocols ba...

The objective of this study was to evaluate the storage life and quality of persimmon (Diospyros kaki Thunb.) fruit cv. ‘Karaj’ stored at 0°C for 4 months after postharvest calcium chloride treatment. Fruit weight loss, fruit firmness, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, total phenolic content, soluble tannin content, chilling injury, antioxidant activity, electrolyte leakage, and malondi...

The limitations in current understanding of the molecular mechanisms underlying fruit response to the application of plant growth regulators have increasingly become major challenges in improvement of crop quality. This study aimed to evaluate the response of strawberry to the preharvest application of exogenous cytokinin known as forchlorfenuron (CPPU). Postharvest internal and physiological q...

The effects of calcium propionate, sodium bicarbonate, and sodium ethylenediamine-tetraacetic acid (EDTA) on postharvest pathogens of apple and peach, and on improving the efficacy of the biocontrol product Aspire were evaluated. All three materials had a distinct inhibitory effect on the radial growth of Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum in vitro. The inhibitory effect increased with t...