Postharvest Treatments and Shipping Conditions for Reducing Fruit Drop in Cut Sarcandra glabra Branches

Japan Agricultural Research Quarterly
ISSN 00213551
NII recode ID (NCID) AA0068709X
Full text

In Japan, cut Sarcandra glabra branches with fruit are used as a New Year’s decoration, but frequent fruit drop reduces ornamental value. This study investigated the effects of the harvest season, postharvest treatments, and shipping conditions on the fruit drop of branches, in order to propose a suitable postharvest handling method for the shipment of cut S. glabra branches. Ethylene treatments accelerated fruit drop, especially in cut branches on which the pericarp turned red early in the growing season. Silver thiosulfate complex (STS), an ethylene action inhibitor, was effective in reducing fruit drop regardless of ethylene treatments. However, treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), another ethylene action inhibitor, increased the cumulative percentage of dropped fruit after seven days with or without ethylene treatment. A synthetic auxin, 1-naphthaleneacetic acid (NAA), had an effect similar to that of STS, but NAA tended to accelerate leaf abscission. Treatments with 0.03 to 1.0 mM STS for three days at 10°C reduced fruit drop. Treatments with 0.03 to 0.1 mM STS for three days at 23°C also reduced fruit drop, but the cut ends of branches turned brown with more than 0.3 mM STS. For pretreatment with tap water, the cumulative percentage of dropped fruit after simulated shipment at 10°C increased earlier than at 2°C. Pretreatment with STS strongly suppressed fruit drop after simulated shipment at 2°C and 10°C. Sugar and antibacterial agents in the vase solution were also effective in reducing fruit drop. Finally, the cut branches of S. glabra were treated with 0.1 to 0.3 mM STS for three days in the grower’s stockroom, and then dry-transported by reefer container at 2°C for 11 days. As a result, the cumulative percentage of dropped fruit from the branches was very low for ten days in a quality test room.

Date of issued
Creator Hiroko SHIMIZU-YUMOTO Yumi UJIIE Takayuki OGAWA
Subject ethylene export reefer container silver thiosulfate complex sugar
Publisher Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Received Date 2019-10-04
Accepted Date 2020-02-16
Available Online
Volume 54
Issue 4
spage 341
epage 348
DOI 10.6090/jarq.54.341
Language eng

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