Effects of the plant steroidal hormone, 24-epibrassinolide and storage moisture, on the post-harvest characteristics of Thomson Navel sweet orange fruit

Non-Chilling Peel Pitting (NCPP) is a physiological post-harvest and storage disorder in the peel of many citrus cultivars fruits. The purpose of the present study was to determine the effects of the steroidal plant hormone, 24-epibrassinolide (0, 5 and 10 mg L-1 ) and relative humidity in dry storage (RH =30% and 20) in compare to normal (RH =70% and 6OC), on the shelf life of Thomson-Novel sweet orange. The experiment was performed as factorial arrangement in CRD during 2015 winter for 30 days in three replicates and 10 . Characteristics such as weight loss, NCPP, open stomata, total soluble solids, titrable acid, leakage, Catalase and Malondialdehyde activity were measured in fruits. The results showed that drought stress significantly increased weight loss (9.67%), NCPP (33.3% code) and Catalase activity (0.13682) in fruits skin. The maintenance of fruits in dry environments led to a reduction in the open stomata of skin from 55.3 to 36.1%, which improved via application of 24-epibrassinolide, as well as normal storage (51.1%). According to our results, it can be concluded that 5 mg L-1 24-epibrassinolide concentration consider to its significant effect on reducing weight loss rate, NCPP and Catalase activity in fruits skin.