ABSTRACT
Laboratory of Chemical Biology, College of Chemistry and Material Science, Shandong Agricultural University, Taian 271018, Shandong, China
*Corresponding author. E-mail: shuhua@sdau.edu.cn
ABSTRACT
Fruits and vegetables are important cash crops. However, ripening and senescence, biotic and abiotic stresses usually cause the decrease of postharvest quality and storage life of fruits and vegetables leading to economic damage. As bioactive gas molecule, nitric oxide (NO) can be endogenously produced in higher plants, it is confirmed that NO is involved in plenty cellular processes of plants. Due to its bioactivity, NO was applied to the storage of various fruits and vegetables and showed a favorable fresh-keeping function. In this chapter, the effects of NO on storage quality, respiration and ethylene production, antioxidative defense as well as resistance to chilling injury and diseases of postharvest fruits and vegetables is discussed. Moreover, we have deliberated about few problems related to postharvest nitric oxide applications for fruits and vegetables which need to be studied and clarified in further research.
