Abstract: Cherry tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum cv. Messina) were used to study the effects of exogenous methyl salicylate (MeSA) on chilling injury and endogenous polyamine level. The results indicated that compared with the control, MeSA treatment inhibited the occurrence of chilling injury in cherry tomato, decreased chilling injury index, decay incidence and electrolyte leakage. The accumulation of endogenous spermidine and spermine levels was significantly promoted in MeSA-treated fruits before cold storage and the levels of putrescine and spermine were increased during storage. These results indicate that the reduced chilling injury in cherry tomatoes after MeSA treatment may be due to an increase in polyamine level.

Key words: cherry tomato, methyl salicylate, chilling injury, polyamine