Salicylic Acid Foliar Application Increases Crop Yield and Quality Parameters of Green Pepper Fruit during Postharvest Storage

Abstract

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of salicylic acid (SA) as a preharvest treatment on crop yield throughout the crop cycle of green pepper fruit as well as on its quality parameters, including functional quality, at harvest and during 21 days of storage at 7 °C. Thus, ‘Herminio’ pepper plants were treated with SA at 0.5, 1 and 5 mM, and higher crop yield (kg per plant, number of fruits per plant and average fruit weight) and quality parameters (firmness, green color and total acidity) at harvest were obtained with the 0.5 mM dose, as well as greater phenolic compounds content and total antioxidant activity. These quality traits and functional quality were also maintained at higher levels for this treatment than in controls during postharvest storage, leading to a delay of fruit quality losses. In addition, the decay incidence for 0.5 mM SA-treated pepper fruits reached a ca. value of 2% at the end of the storage, which was lower than untreated fruits (16.6%). These results suggest that preharvest application of SA at low doses tested on pepper plants could be a useful tool to increase crop yield and fruit quality parameters at harvest and maintain them during storage, delaying quality losses and decay incidence.

Keywords

• average weight
• decay incidence
• firmness
• SA
• total phenolics