Preharvest phenylalanine spraying alleviates chilling injury in harvested muskmelons by maintaining reactive oxygen species homeostasis.

In this study, muskmelon plant and fruit were sequentially sprayed with 8 mM phenylalanine (Phe) four times during fruit development. The effect of preharvest Phe spraying on chilling injury (CI) of harvested muskmelons was assessed and the mechanism involved was investigated. We found that Phe spray activated NADPH oxidase (NOX), superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), ascorbate peroxidase (APX) and glutathione reductase (GR), and increased glutathione (GSH) and ascorbic acid (AsA) levels during fruit chilling. The spray increased endogenous Phe, total phenolic and flavonoid content, and DPPH and ABTS scavenging capacity. In addition, the spray decreased O production rate, HO levels, cell membrane permeability and malondialdehyde (MDA) content, and significantly reduced CI index in fruit, which was 16.5 %, 16.6 %, 13.5 %, 20.2 % and 26.5 % lower than the control after 28 d, respectively. In conclusion, Phe spraying alleviates CI in harvested muskmelons by maintaining ROS homeostasis.