Effect of Chitin Induction on Postharvest Sweet Cherry Fruit Against Black Spot and Storage Quality

doi:10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2025-0261

Acta Horticulturae Sinica ›› 2026, Vol. 53 ›› Issue (5): 1425-1438.doi: 10.16420/j.issn.0513-353x.2025-0261

• Cultivation · Physiology & Biochemistry • Previous Articles Next Articles

Effect of Chitin Induction on Postharvest Sweet Cherry Fruit Against Black Spot and Storage Quality

CUI Jianchao¹, JIA Xiaohui², LI Litao¹, FAN Liying¹, ZHAO Wenshi¹, CHEN Long¹, WANG Xumin¹, HE Limin¹^,^*(), XU Haijiao¹^,²^,^*()

¹ Changli Institute of Pomology， Hebei Academy of Agricultural and Forestry Sciences，Changli， Hebei 066600， China
² Research Institute of Pomology， Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences，Key Laboratory of Horticultural Crops Germplasm Resources Utilization，Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of the People’s Republic of China，Xingcheng， Liaoning 125100， China

Received:2025-12-10 Revised:2026-02-12 Online:2026-05-25 Published:2026-05-26
Contact: HE Limin, XU Haijiao

Abstract

Abstract:

The effects of different concentrations of chitin on the mycelia growth and spore germination of Alternaria alternata，the causal agent of black spot disease in sweet cherry，were investigated under in vitro conditions. Meanwhile，‘Shamidou’sweet cherry fruits were used as experimental material and treatment with chitin，then A.alternata spore suspension were inoculated，which to explore the efficacy and mechanism of chitin-induced resistance against black spot disease. The results showed that low concentrations of chitin（0-0.01% for colony diameter and 0-0.001% for spore germination）had no significant inhibitory effect on A. alternata. In vivo experiments demonstrated that chitin at concentrations ranging from 0.01% to 1% significantly suppressed the expansion of black spot on sweet cherry fruit，with 0.5% and 1% identified as the optimal concentrations and 24 h as the most effective induction time. Chitin treatment also effectively controlled black spot disease during low-temperature storage，reduced natural decay in postharvest sweet cherry，and had no adverse effects on fruit quality. Furthermore，chitin treatment enhanced the up-regulated expression of defense-related enzyme genes（PaCAT，PaSOD，PaPOD，PaPPO）as well as SA/JA signaling pathway genes，such as PaNPR1-like and PaOPR3. Correspondingly， the activities of defense-related enzymes， including superoxide dismutase（SOD）， catalase（CAT）， peroxidase（POD）， polyphenol oxidase（PPO），chitinase（CHI）and β-1，3-glucanase（GLU），were increased in fruit. Therefore，chitin-induced resistance against black spot disease in sweet cherry fruit is associated with enhanced activities of defense-related enzymes and up-regulation of their corresponding genes.

Key words: sweet cherry, postharvest, chitin, black spot disease, induced resistance, storage quality

CUI Jianchao, JIA Xiaohui, LI Litao, FAN Liying, ZHAO Wenshi, CHEN Long, WANG Xumin, HE Limin, XU Haijiao. Effect of Chitin Induction on Postharvest Sweet Cherry Fruit Against Black Spot and Storage Quality[J]. Acta Horticulturae Sinica, 2026, 53(5): 1425-1438.

Figures/Tables 10

Table 1 Primers for qRT-PCR analysis

基因Gene	NCBI号NCBI No.	引物序列（5′-3′）Primer sequence	片段大小/ bp Size
PaCAT	XM_021971860	F：AAGGCAGGGAAAGCACTGTA； R：CTGGGTAGCATGGCTGTGAT	117
PaSOD	XM_021954897	F：CTTAGCACGGGCAGTTGAGA； R：CCACACCCAACCAGAACCTT	100
PaPOD	XM_021965723	F：ACCTAACACTTTCGACGGCA； R：TGTTGATCGTATCAGCCCCG	107
PaPPO	XM_021975114	F：GTTGAGTGGGCCAGACAAGA； R：GCCCCAACCTCAAGATACCC	104
PaNPR1-like	XM_021963921	F：TTTCGTTGTGGAGTTGAT； R：TATTCGGTCTTTGTTTGC	703
PaOPR3	XM_021949279	F：CAAGTGGTGGAGCATTATCG； R：AGTTTTGAGCCCCAGTCTTG	89
Actin	XM_021963369	F：GCAGCTCATCCGAACCTCAA； R：ATACCACGCTTGGACTGAGC	258

Fig. 1 Effects of different chitin concentrations on the colony diameter of Alternaria alternata The different letters represent significant difference among treatments（P < 0.05）. The same below

Fig. 2 Effects of different chitin concentrations on spore germination of Alternaria alternata（6 h）

Fig. 3 Effects of different concentrations of chitin on sweet cherry black spot disease

Fig. 4 Effects of chitin pretreatment and inoculation interval on suppression of sweet cherry black spot disease

Fig. 5 Effects of chitin treatment on black spot disease of sweet cherry during low-temperature sotrage

Fig. 6 Effects of chitin whole fruit treatment on postharvest natural decay in sweet cherry

Table 2 Effects of chitin treatment on the quality of sweet cherry during ambient temperature storage

几丁质/% Chitin	可溶性固形物/% Soluble solid	可滴定酸/% Titratable acid	维生素C/（mg · kg^-1） Vitamin C	褐变度 Degree of browning
0（对照Control）	15.3 ± 0.09 a	0.563 ± 0.0078 b	113.44 ± 8.13 a	0.300 ± 0.004 a
0.1	15.2 ± 0.12 a	0.558 ± 0.0023 b	122.67 ± 9.34 a	0.297 ± 0.002 a
0.2	15.1 ± 0.07 a	0.590 ± 0.0038 a	129.38 ± 10.81 a	0.310 ± 0.005 a
0.5	15.4 ± 0.12 a	0.561 ± 0.0062 b	141.88 ± 3.41 a	0.298 ± 0.011 a

Fig. 7 Effects of chitin treatment on activities involved of defense-related enzymes in sweet cherry fruit The different letters represent significant difference between treatments（P < 0.05）. The same below

Fig. 8 Effects of chitin treatment on the defense-related gene expression level in sweet cherry fruit

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Effect of Chitin Induction on Postharvest Sweet Cherry Fruit Against Black Spot and Storage Quality

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