Postharvest nitric oxide treatment of persimmon (Diospyros kaki l.) improves fruit quality during storage

The effects of nitric oxide (NO) on postharvest ripening of persimmon were investigated. Materials and methods. Fruit were dipped for 30 min in 1.0 and 1.5 mM sodium nitroprusside (SNP), a nitric oxide donor, and stored at 1 °C and 90% relative humidity for 56 days. Changes in total antioxidant activity, total phenol compounds, color, firmness, soluble tannins and weight loss were evaluated. Results and discussion. The results showed that fruit ripening was significantly delayed by SNP. Application of 1.0 and 1.5 mM SNP delayed weight loss and retained greater total antioxidant activity, total phenolic compounds and firmness compared to the control treatments. No significant differences were observed between the two concentrations of SNP. Conclusion. These results demonstrated that postharvest NO application has potential to delay ripening and maintain quality of harvested persimmon fruit.