Scientia Horticulturae 198 (2016) 70–77 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Scientia Horticulturae journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/scihorti Changing of physiochemical properties and color development of mango fruit sprayed methyl Jasmonate Ratthaphol Muengkaew a,b , Peerasak Chaiprasart a,b,∗ , Ian Warrington c a Department of Agricultural Science, Faculty of Agriculture Natural Resources and Environment, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand b Center of Excellence in Postharvest Technology, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand c Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand a r t i c l e i n f o Article history: Received 15 October 2015 Received in revised form 18 November 2015 Accepted 19 November 2015 Keywords: Anthocyanin Phenylalanine ammonia lyase Fruit quality Red color Mangifera indica L. Mahachanok a b s t r a c t A key physical characteristic of mango cv. Manhachanok is its red color. The eye catching appearance good first impressions and can serve as a quality guide for consumers. This study was carried out to investigate the effectiveness of methyl jasmonate for enhancing uniform red color development in peel and for improving the quality of fruit in mango cv. Mahachanok. Methyl jasmonate at five concentrations (20, 40, 80 and 120 L/mL) sprayed onto Trees 90 days after anthesis and compared with water. Fruit was harvested at 110 days after anthesis and stored at 15 ◦ C. Physiochemical properties were then deter- mined every three days. Mango fruit sprayed with 80 L/mL methyl jasmonate had significantly higher phenylalanine ammonia lyase activity (PAL), higher concentration of phenolic compounds and greater total anthocyanin concentration than the control fruit. Physiochemical changed measured during the postharvest period indicated that the application of MJ increased L* and a* values of peel and decreased the hue angle values compared with those of the control. Application of MJ enhanced -carotene, vita- min C, glucose, fructose, sucrose and SS/TA concentrations compared with the control while firmness was increased and weight loss was delayed. Sensory evaluation panelists detected changes in color of fruit during storage. © 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Within the group of red mango (Mangifera indica L.) species, ‘Mahachanok’ is one cultivar which can be forced for off-season production in Thailand through the use of paclobutrazol. One prob- lem in production of ‘Mahachanok’, however is that the red color of skin is uneven and fruit do not meet export standard. The red peel in ‘Mahachanok’ is caused by the synthesis and accumulation of anthocyanin. Color is a very important indicator of fruit quality and of freshness and also for estimating the stage of maturity. A num- ber of factors and signals influence the accumulation of pigments, such as carotenoids and anthocyanins, including light, tempera- ture, mineral, nutrition and the impact of plant growth regulators. In addition apart orchard management practices such as bagging, pruning and fertilization can also strongly impact on fruit color pigmentation. Pre-harvest and postharvest application of plant ∗ Corresponding author at: Department of Agricultural Science, Faculty of Agricul- ture Natural Resources and Environment, Naresuan University, Phitsanulok 65000, Thailand. Fax: +66 55963014. E-mail address: peerasakc@gmail.com (P. Chaiprasart). growth regulators such as methyl jasmonate is a new approached to effectively maintain the quality of fruit. Specific plant growth regu- lators can increase anthocyanin concentration in the peel of mango and other fruits. The synergistic or additive responses have been found between ethylene and methyl jasmonate in apple peel pig- ment synthesis pathways (Kondo et al., 2001; Rowan, 2009). Such changes in synthesis can cause changes in physical appearance, mechanical properties and in the composition of bioactive com- pounds in fruits (Fan et al., 1997). Methyl jasmonate is an important cellular regulator that is involved in diverse developmental stages including fruit ripening, accumulation of pigments, phenolic com- pounds, antioxidants, and sugars (Cheong and Choi, 2003; Rohwer and Erwin, 2008; Heridia and Cisneros-Zevallos, 2009; Burhan et al., 2013) and specifically to increase -carotene accumulation in ripening tomatoes (Saniewski and Czapski, 1983) and in mango cv. Nam Dok Mai (Buanong and Kanlayanarat, 2010). Dipping or spraying methyl jasmonate either before or after harvest influenced the development of red color through an increase in anthocyanin concentration in both apple (Rudell et al., 2005) and strawberry (Abolfazl et al., 2013). Dipping mango cv. Mahachanok in methyl jasmonate also enhanced the ability of skin to change to be more red in color (Chanwijit et al., 2010). In addition, fruits sprayed with http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scienta.2015.11.033 0304-4238/© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.