Effect of preharvest application salicylic acid on physicochemical characteristics of apricot (Prunus armeniaca L.) fruits cv.  Shamlou during storage

To determine the effects of pre-harvest salicylic acid (SA) treatments on postharvest life and quality of apricot fruits، four different concentrations (one، 1. 5، three and 4. 5 mM) were applied six days before harvesting of apricot fruits cv. ‘Shamlou’. Fruits harvested at commercial maturity stage and stored at 2ºC with 90 percent RH on the same day for a period of three weeks. The fruit was evaluated for weight loss، flesh firmness، total soluble solid (TSS) contents، titratable acidity (TA)، ascorbic acid contents، total phenolic contents and total flavonoids in treated and nontreated fruits. Results showed that salicylic acid treatments significantly exhibited weight loss and flesh firmness compared with control. At the end of storage، the highest ascorbic acid content and total phenolic content was observed in 4. 5 mM SA treated fruits. The highest flesh firmness، titratable acidity and flavonoids were observed at three mM SA treated fruits and at the end stage of storage. The lowest weight loss، TSS and pH were recorded at 3mM SA treated fruits.