Abstract: Freshly harvested ‘Guifei’ mango fruit were dipped in 10 mg/L forchlorfenuron (CPPU) solution for 10 min and then taken out. After natural drying, the fruit were stored at room temperature (25 ℃) for 8 days to investigate the effect of CPPU on physiological indices related to fruit ripening and softening during storage. The results showed that CPPU strongly inhibited the respiration rate of mango fruit and delayed the changes in pulp color, firmness, soluble solids content (SSC), and titratable acids content (TAC). The activities of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC) synthase (ACS) and ACC oxidase (ACO) were suppressed by CPPU treatment, which contributed to inhibiting ethylene production. In addition, CPPU markedly inhibited the activities of polygalacturonase (PG), pectin?methylesterase (PME) and β-galactosidase (β-Gal) to delay the solubilization and depolymerization of pectic polysaccharides, thus slowing down the softening process of mango fruit during storage. Accordingly, we concluded that that CPPU could delay fruit ripening and prolong the shelf life of postharvest mangoes.

Key words: mango; forchlorfenuron (CPPU); postharvest ripening; ethylene; softening