Effects of salicylic acid treatment on the postharvest black spot disease and quality of Pingguoli Pear during storage

The fruit of Pingguoli pear (Pyrus bretschneideri Rehd.) were treated with salicylic acid (SA) solutions for 10 min, then were wound-inoculated with Alternaria alternata 24h later. The decay area was measured after stored for 10 days at room temperature (17±2 ℃), or 27 days at low temperature (2±1 ℃)and extra 10 days at 17±2 ℃.The results showed that the 0.5g/L and 1.0g/L SA treatments have effectively inhibited the decay development of the black spot disease. The inhibitive effects were more significant at cold storage conditions than at room storage. The variations of the flesh firmness, total soluble solids (TSS) and acidity contents of the fruit treated with SA solutions were also deter mined during storage at room temperature (17±2 ℃). The results indicated that the treatments were helpful for maintaining the flesh firmness, whereas they decreased the fruit TSS, with no significant effect on the acidity contents .