Scientists at Jiangxi Agricultural University have demonstrated that methyl jasmonate is beneficial in controlling postharvest soft rot of kiwifruit, inducing the activities and gene expression of antioxidant and defence enzymes.
"Kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa cv. Jinkui) were treated with 0.1 mmol/L methyl jasmonate (MeJA) to investigate the effects on disease resistance to soft rot caused by Botryosphaeria dothidea. The results showed that MeJA treatment significantly reduced the diameter of lesions after inoculation with B. dothidea - The scientists explain - This treatment significantly enhanced the activities of related antioxidant protective enzymes, defence-related enzymes including catalase (CAT), peroxidase (POD), superoxide dismutase (SOD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), chitinase (CHI), β-1,3 glucanase (GLU) and increased the accumulation of total phenolic content, while the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation was reduced. MeJA treatment effectively enhanced gene expression of AcPOD, AcSOD, AcCHI and AcGLU".
The study shows that MeJA treatment is a promising and safe strategy for controlling postharvest soft rot of kiwifruit.
Source: Liuyi Pan, Xianyang Zhao, Ming Chen, Yongqi Fu, Miaolian Xiang, Jinyin Chen, 'Effect of exogenous methyl jasmonate treatment on disease resistance of postharvest kiwifruit', 2020, Food Chemistry, Volume 305.