Abstract:

The effects of umbelliferone on controlling Penicillium expansum growth（in vitro）and on regulating the quality and disease resistance to P. expansum in kiwifruit（Actinidia deliciosa‘Bruno’）were investigated. The results showed that，as compared with control，the spore germination and colony diameter of P. expansum were significantly reduced on potato dextrose broth（PDB）or potato dextrose agar（PDA）containing 0.5 or 1.0 mg · mL-1 umbelliferone. Moreover，0.5 mg · mL-1 umbelliferone treatment slowed the decreases in titratable acid（TA）and vitamin C content，and the increase in soluble solid content（SSC），and reduced the natural decay incidence of kiwifruit during storage. Also，0.5 mg · mL-1 umbelliferone treatment significantly inhibited the progress of rot and patulin accumulation caused by P. expansum，and induced increases in the activities of chitinase（CHT），β-1,3-glucanase（GLU），phenylalanine ammonialyase（PAL），and up-regulated the expression of these defense-related enzymes in kiwifruit after inoculation of P. expansum suspension. Thus，it was suggested that the umbelliferone treatment could benefit the fruit quality and improved the disease resistance in kiwifruit against P. expansum during postharvest.

Key words: kiwifruit, fruit, umbelliferone, quality, Penicillium expansum, disease resistance