The effect of natural elicitors on quality of storability of date palm fruit at rutab stage

Known for centuries, date palm fruit ‘Khesab’ has been widely consumed in the Arab region. Besides its popularity, it gets wasted many times more than the quantity that is used. Therefore, it is a challenge to preserve it after harvest. In the present study, combinations of natural elicitors were employed as preharvest treatment: chitosan (Ch) 1% alone or combined with salicylic acid (SA) 2 mM and calcium chloride (Ca) 3% was investigated on the physiological changes in ‘Khesab’ date fruits during 6 weeks of cold storage. Total soluble solids (TSS) were lower in Ca, Ch+SA+Ca, Ch+SA treated fruit as compared with control fruits. Similarly, Ch+SA treated fruits did not show any decay after 6 weeks of storage. The total phenolics (TPC), tannins (TTC) and flavonoids (TFC) content were the highest in the Ca treatment followed by Ch+Ca+SA and Ch by the end of the storage period. Antioxidant activities were found in all treatments, which was significantly higher in Ch+SA+Ca, Ch+SA and Ch compared to control. Our results show that the use of elicitor combinations increase the shelf life of date rutab fruit during cold storage by preserving its quality and reducing spoilage which could be used as a potential strategy.