Detailed Study on Cold Storage of Mulberry Fruits: Effect of Postharvest Putrescine Treatments on Quality Characteristics and Biochemical Properties of Mulberry Fruits

Abstract

Product loss during the post-harvest preservation process of fruits produced in the world causes difficulties in people's access to sufficient food. Mulberry is one of the fruits with the shortest storage life among fruit types and is difficult to preserve. In this study, the effect of post-harvest putrescine application (0.5, 1, 1.5 mM) on the quality characteristics and biochemical contents of cold stored mulberry fruits was examined. After putrescine application, the fruits were stored at cold conditions (0 +/- 0.5 degrees C and 90 +/- 5% RH) for 7, 14, and 21 days. Among the fruit quality characteristics, weight loss was determined to be 3.72% on the 21st day at a dose of 1.5 mM putrescine, while it was 6.39% in the control group, indicating a reduction of approximately 2.67%. Putrescine doses also significantly inhibited the decay rate and prevented an increase in respiration rate. The organic acid and phenolic compound content in the fruits decreased during the storage period. In this study, 1.5 mM putrescine dose (8.29 mg 100 g(-1)) preserved the malic acid content, which decreased during storage, by approximately 14% compared to the control group (7.25 mg 100 g(-1)) on the 21st day. At the end of storage, the 1.5 mM putrescine dose prevented a 10% decrease in chlorogenic acid content. As a result, this research has determined that post-harvest putrescine applications preserved the quality characteristics and biochemical content of mulberries during storage.