Chilling Injury in Tropical Crops after Harvest

Abstract

Tropical crops suffer from chilling injury after harvest, which has historically limited their global trade. The primary cause of chilling injury relates to membrane dysfunction leading to altered Ca2+flux and upregulation of cold‐regulated genes via C‐repeat binding factors (CBFs). Secondary damage results from generation of free radicals. Chilling injury leads to a diversity of internal and external symptoms in tropical crops. The most serious are those which occur only internally or take time to display after fresh products leave the chilling environment, as these symptoms are likely to lead to product rejection after purchase. Techniques for the detection of chilling injury by non‐destructive technologies are reviewed. A wide range of techniques has been tested empirically for reducing chilling susceptibility in tropical crops (step‐down cooling, hormetic treatments, intermittent warming, atmosphere modification, chemical treatments, and pre‐harvest manipulation) and is reviewed here. Faster progress may be possible if treatments can be based on knowledge of underlying mechanisms; for example, maximal heat shock protein gene expression may be an indicator of effective heat treatments. Options for introducing greater chilling tolerance through breeding are discussed, using wild relatives or introduced CBFs. Improved technologies are already leading to increased trade in tropical products which is beneficial for tropical economies.

Chilling temperatures and controlled atmospheres alter key volatile compounds implicated in basil aroma and flavor

“…Other than inhibiting ethylene action by acting as a competitive inhibitor ( Kader et al., 1989 ), elevated CO 2 levels were also found to inhibit the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), enhance the activities and expression of genes of antioxidant enzymes, and increased accumulation of known antioxidants such as ascorbic acid and glutathione ( Liang et al., 2021 ; Wang et al., 2021 ). Generation of ROS is one of the key events in chilling injury and its overproduction can lead to progressive loss of membrane integrity due to lipid peroxidation ( Sevillano et al., 2009 ; Heyes, 2018 ). The aforementioned effects of CO 2 could have resulted in chilling injury amelioration until such time as the production of ROS exceeded the capacity of the scavenging process, at which time chilling injury symptoms developed.…”

Melatonin: A biomolecule for mitigating postharvest chilling injury in fruits and vegetables

“…Internal metabolic disorders can appear in a variety of ways, including peel depression, atypical peel color, peel water stains, peel or pulp browning, and pulp woodiness or flocculation (Lurie & Crisosto, 2005). When the tissues of cold-sensitive species are stored between 0 and 15˚C, postharvest CI (PCI) begins to occur; however, it only becomes obvious when the tissues are transferred to a warmer environment (Heyes, 2018).…”

Biochemical responses to chilling injury in sweet potato after cold storage

“…The changes resulting from chilling injury are more noticeable on the external surface of the product (Zou, Zhang, Rao, Zhu, & Ye, 2014), which culminates in rejection on the part of consumers and losses to the vegetable-supply chain. Moreover, the damage may also be apparent only upon removing the vegetable from the refrigerated environment or only detected inside the product (Heyes, 2018).…”