postharvest arginine spraying delayed ripening during storage of papaya

Purpose: climacteric metabolism makes papaya (carica papaya l) a highly perishable fruit, especially under ambient conditions. considering that few retail outlets (markets) have a cold chain for storage, it is necessary to evaluate technologies to extend the commercial shelf life of this fruit under ambient conditions. thus, the objective of this research was to evaluate the effect of arginine application to delay ripening and preserve the physicochemical quality of papaya during storage under ambient conditions. research method: physiologically ripe ‘hawaii’ papayas (stage 1) were harvested from a commercial orchard, selected (physiological injuries, pests and diseases), sanitized in a chloride solution and sprayed with solutions containing distilled water (control) and arginine (25 mg.l-1) determined in preliminary tests. they were then placed on benches and kept under ambient conditions (28 ± 2 °c and 85 ± 5 % rh) for a period of 7 days with quality assessments performed daily. findings: spraying a solution containing arginine (25 mg.l-1) significantly delayed the ripening of papayas, corroborated by reduced respiratory activity and ethylene production, the effects of which were observed in delayed chlorophyll loss in the peel, reduced mass loss, maintenance of firmness, reduction in total soluble solids accumulation and titratable acidity, in addition to reduced degradation of vitamin c and lycopene. research limitations: understanding the biochemical mechanism of arginine in the regulation of ripening. originality/value: the results of this study provide the producer/trader with a viable and easy-to- apply technology to ensure a product with a longer marketing period and quality for the final consumer.