Effect of Pre-And Postharvest Treatments with Salicylic Acid on Physicochemical Properties of Pineapple cv. MD2

Abstract Salicylic acid applied pre-and postharvest can impact positively the fruit quality, although more experiments are necessary to clarify its influence on pineapple. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effect of pre-and postharvest treatments with salicylic acid on physicochemical properties of MD2 pineapple. Treatments were, A (Control: Waxing but without SA application pre-and postharvest), B (SA (2 mM) preharvest (sprayed) + SA (5 mM) postharvest (dipping)), C SA (2 mM) preharvest (sprayed) + SA (7 mM) postharvest (dipping)) and D (SA (2 mM) preharvest (sprayed) + SA (9 mM) postharvest (dipping)). Fruit total soluble solids, total acidity, ascorbic acid, β-carotene, fruit weight, percentage of weight loss, firmness, respiration rate, shell colour and flesh translucency were examined. The ascorbic acid, respiration rate and flesh translucency were determined as the variables more influential in this study. Treatments with postharvest concentrations higher than 5 mM increased the ascorbic acid (˃ 300 mg/kg) and reduced the translucency incidence (˂ 20 %), while with postharvest concentrations between 5-7 mM reduced the respiration rate (˂ 12 mL CO2/kg*h). All the treatments provided ideal values for the rest of the quality variables studied. Finally, treatment C was considered the most beneficial for the fruit, delivering the most elevated ascorbic acid content (385.89 mg/kg), the lowest respiration rate (10.46 mL CO2/kg*h) and translucency incidence (16.67 %). Keywords: Antioxidants, Ascorbic acid, Enzyme, Respiration rate, Translucency