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Preharvest Foliar Spray of Various Potassium Sources and Calcium Chloride Affect Fruit Color, Storability, and Bruise Susceptibility of Apples (Malus × domestica Borkh. cv. “Red Delicious”)

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Abstract

This study was conducted in two consecutive growing seasons to evaluate the effect of pre-harvest sprays of three potassium (K) sources (KNO3, K2SO4, and KCl) and calcium chloride (CaCl2) on the color attributes and changes in fruit quality and bruise susceptibility of “Red Delicious” apples during 4 months of storage. During each season, the trees were sprayed five times with CaCl2 (5 g.l−1) and three times with K sources (2.5 g × l−1). Fruit qualitative traits were measured at harvest time as well as 2 and 4 months after storage at 0 °C. Results showed that all treatments positively affected the red skin color, except CaCl2. During the storage period, KNO3 + CaCl2 treatment significantly increased fruit firmness (FF), total acidity (TA), and decreased water loss compared to the untreated trees, while single treatments of K sources increased titratable acidity (TA) only at harvest time. Total soluble solids (TSS) were increased by spraying trees with KNO3 + CaCl2 only at harvest time. Results also revealed that “Red Delicious” apples are more susceptible to bruise damage immediately after harvest compared to after 2 and 4 months of storage. In general, simultaneous foliar application of KNO3 and CaCl2 effectively improved the fruit quality and storability of the “Red Delicious” apple.

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank Arya Sam Company (cold storage and fruit marketing) for supporting the experimental apple orchard and cold storage facilities for this project. We would also like to thank Mohsen Hamedpour-Darabi for help with the language of the paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Horticultural Sciences, College of Agriculture, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Sahar Solhjoo & Ali Gharaghani

  2. Department of Horticultural Sciences, College of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

    Mansoureh Nazari

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  1. Sahar Solhjoo
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  2. Ali Gharaghani
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We confirm that all authors contributed significantly to the work and agree with the contents of the manuscript and its submission to the journal. Sahar Solhjoo conducted all the experiments and generated the data, performed parts of statistical analysis, and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. Ali Gharaghani designed all experiments, provided materials, supervised the practical issues related to the data collection and analysis, revised and improved the first draft of manuscript. Mansoureh Nazari performed parts of the statistical analysis and partially contributed to the writing of the first draft.

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Correspondence to Ali Gharaghani.

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S. Solhjoo, A. Gharaghani and M. Nazari declare that they have no competing interests.

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All necessary data are presented in the manuscript, but the raw data will be available upon request of the reviewers or editor.

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Solhjoo, S., Gharaghani, A. & Nazari, M. Preharvest Foliar Spray of Various Potassium Sources and Calcium Chloride Affect Fruit Color, Storability, and Bruise Susceptibility of Apples (Malus × domestica Borkh. cv. “Red Delicious”). Erwerbs-Obstbau 65, 607–619 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10341-022-00717-3

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