Postharvest application of methyl jasmonate on antioxidant capacity and antioxidant enzymes of sweet cherry cv. Tak Daneye mashhad

Sweet cherry fruit deteriorate rapidly after harvest and in some cases do not reach to consumers at optimum quality. Therefore, the use of natural compounds to increase the shelf life and maintain the quality of fruits is necessary. In this research, the effect of methyl jasmonate (at 0, 7 and 14 µmol L-1) on postharvest life and quality of sweet cherry fruits (Tak Danye mashhad cultivar) during storage at 1± 0.1 ˚C with 85-90% RH was studied and traits were evaluated after 15 and 30 days of cold storage. Fruit quality attributes including pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, TSS/TA ratio, total antioxidant capacity, Total phenolics content, total flavonoids, total anthocyanins, catalase, peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase enzymes activity were evaluated. The results showed that methyl Jasmonate was effective in maintaining the pH, increasing titratable acidity and TSS/TA ratio and also increasing total antioxidant capacity, total phenolics and total flavonoids content. While the increase in activity of peroxidase and polyphenol oxidase enzymes activity was prevented by Methyl Jasmonate. The treatment had no significant effect on total soluble solids content. The results of this study indicated that Methyl Jasmonate enhances postharvest life of Sweet cherry fruit via increasing total antioxidant capacity and decreasing senescence rate.