Abstract:The Saimaiti apricot fruit were used to study how pre-harvest oligochitosan treatment affect the storage quality and post-harvest physiology of the apricot fruit. During the four periods of fruit phrase, fruit-development，veraison and 48h before harvest, the apricot trees were spayed on with 0.01%, 0.05% or 0.25% chitosan solution (molecular weight 5000) respectively and stored at 4 ℃, 90~95% RH after harvesting. The physiological and biochemical indexes of apricot fruit were evaluated during storage. Results showed that oligochitosan treatment was most effective in maintaining the quality. This treatment can also prolong storage period of fruits by modulating the ripening and senescence of fruit cells. The qualities and indexes of apricot fruits treated by pre-harvest 0.05% oligochitosan were superior to other testing group.
