Evaluation of pre-harvest foliar calcium applications on ‘Fuji’ apple fruit quality during cold storage

Abstract

In this study, calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) and two organic calcium compounds including Calcicat® and Folical® and water (as control) were applied at four different spray programs (All-season, Early, Mid and Late season spray) at the Abhar region in Iran during 2012 and compared. 6-year-old 'Standard Fuji' trees grafted on 'MM106' rootstock were used in this study. All spray programs involved 6 biweekly sprays. Fruits harvested at commercial maturity stage and stored at commercial cold storage at 0 º C and RH 95%. Overall, all treated fruits received Late season CaCl 2 had higher Ca content, lower K/Ca and (K+Mg)/Ca ratios, and fruits treated with Folical Mid season had lower Ca, higher K/Ca and (K+Mg)/Ca ratios. Yield efficiency (No. of fruits per cm 2 trunk cross-sectional area (TCSA)) and fresh fruit weight was affected by preharvest treatments. Ca application resulted in reduced yield efficiency. SSC, TA and flesh firmness were affected by Ca application and spray programs at harvest and during 3 and 6 months storage. Control fruits in All-season spray program had highest content of SSC and fruits received CaCl 2 Early had lowest SSC at harvest. Folical Allseason resulted in fruits with higher acidity than its control. Fruits treated with Calcicat Early had lower acidity. During 3 and 6 months cold storage, SSC increased and TA decreased. During 6 months storage, Calcicat All-season had higher SSC. Fruits received early season CaCl 2 had more acidity than other treatments. All-season spray of Calcicat resulted in fruits with higher firmness than other treatments. The flesh firmness during 3 and 6 months storage decreased. According to the obtained data this reduction had not specific trend among treatments.

Influence of pre-harvest calcium spray on fruit quality of apple cultivars during cold storage

“…Optimal supply of apple fruits with this element is associated with better fruit firmness, higher content of soluble solids and total acids, better fruit coloration (Kadir 2005) and reduced occurrence of physiological diseases during storage (Fallahi et al 2010) without detrimental effect on consumer acceptance (Lester, Gursak 1999). CaCl 2 and calcium nitrate (Ca(NO 3 ) 2 ) are common calcium fertilizers used for spraying of apple (Ghorbani et al 2017). Experimental results https://doi.org/10.17221/127/2022-HORTSCI to 40 mm-T stage fruit (BBCH 74) and was repeated four times at every 20 days until one month before fruits were ripe for picking.…”

Effect of calcium spray at flowering combined with post-harvest 1-MCP treatment on the preservation of grapes

“…Li (2020) found that preharvest calcium treatment (1% and 2%) increased the activity of superoxide dismutase, catalase, and ascorbic acid peroxidase during late storage, thus delaying fruit ripening and enhancing the disease resistance of mango fruit [ 13 ]. Ghorbani (2021) found that spraying calcium during the growing period resulted in a significant increase in calcium concentration in apples and also significantly improved storage tolerance during the postharvest period [ 14 ]. In "Liberty" Blueberries, Lobos (2021) found a high positive correlation between fruit hardness and fruit calcium concentration [ 15 ].…”