Ramírez-Rodas Yeimy C, Arévalo-Galarza Ma de Lourdes, Cadena-Iñiguez Jorge, Soto-Hernández Ramón M, Peña-Valdivia Cecilia B, Guerrero-Analco José A
Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus Montecillo, Km. 36.5 Carretera México-Texcoco, Montecillo 56230, Mexico.
Colegio de Postgraduados, Campus San Luis Potosí, San Iturbide No. 73, Salinas de Hidalgo, San Luis Potosí 78600, Mexico.
Plants (Basel). 2022 Dec 26;12(1):108. doi: 10.3390/plants12010108.
The chayote fruit is a nontraditional vegetable belonging to the Cucurbitaceae family. The fruit has an endocarpic recalcitrant seed that emerges postharvest, drastically shortening its shelf life. In this study, the changes during fruit and seed development before and after harvest (ah) are reported. Additionally, in order to investigate how growth regulators (GRs) affect seed germination, 2-cloroethylphosphonic acid (CPA) (200 µL L), gibberellic acid (GA) (100 and 200 mg L), auxin (2,4-D) (0.5 and 1.0 mM), and abscisic acid (ABA) (0.5 and 1.0 mM) were applied after harvest. The results showed that the chayote fruit reached horticultural maturity at 21 days after anthesis, with a sigmoid trend: phase I featured slow growth and high transpiration; in phase II, growth was accelerated and accumulation of endosperm was observed; and in phase III, both growth rate and transpiration were reduced, soluble sugars increased, and the seed showed 25% cotyledon development. At day 13 ah, CPA, GA, and 2,4-D (0.5 mM) increased seed germination, with values between 10 and 15 mm of the embryonary axis, and the treatments with 2,4-D (1 mM) and ABA (0.5 and 1.0 mM) retarded their growth (2-6 mm). This research allowed us to reveal the phenological phases and the shelf life of the chayote fruit, as well as the results of possible postharvest treatment with GRs; our results suggest that strategies to delay viviparism and prolong the shelf life of the fruit should be applied before 10 days ah, when the embryonic axis of the seed has not developed.
佛手瓜果实是一种属于葫芦科的非传统蔬菜。该果实有一颗内果皮顽拗型种子，在收获后会出现，极大地缩短其货架期。在本研究中，报告了收获前和收获后（ah）果实及种子发育过程中的变化。此外，为了研究生长调节剂（GRs）如何影响种子萌发，在收获后施加了2-氯乙基膦酸（CPA）（200 μL L）、赤霉素（GA）（100和200 mg L）、生长素（2,4-D）（0.5和1.0 mM）以及脱落酸（ABA）（0.5和1.0 mM）。结果表明，佛手瓜果实在开花后21天达到园艺成熟，呈S形趋势：第一阶段生长缓慢且蒸腾作用高；在第二阶段，生长加速且观察到胚乳积累；在第三阶段，生长速率和蒸腾作用均降低，可溶性糖增加，种子的子叶发育达到25%。在收获后第13天，CPA、GA和2,4-D（0.5 mM）提高了种子萌发率，胚轴长度在10至15毫米之间，而2,4-D（1 mM）和ABA（0.5和1.0 mM）处理则抑制了它们的生长（2至6毫米）。这项研究使我们能够揭示佛手瓜果实的物候期和货架期，以及GRs采后处理的结果；我们的结果表明，应在收获后10天之前应用延迟种子胎萌和延长果实货架期的策略，此时种子的胚轴尚未发育。
