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Certain postharvest disorders such as rachis desiccation, weight loss, accelerated softening and biochemical changes limit the postharvest life of table grapes. The present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of pre-harvest micronized calcium pulverizations, postharvest UV-C treatment and their combined applications on extending postharvest quality of table grapes cv 'Crimson Seedless'. Pre-harvest micronized calcium pulverization was performed to improve rachis greenness and berry resistance while postharvest UV-C was aimed to induce physiological resistance and delay senescence in grape berries. Ca treatments significantly increased chlorophyll concentrations of rachis while Ca plus UV-C was the best treatment to maintain rachis chlorophyll concentration. UV-C with or without pre-harvest Ca treatment effectively delayed the weight loss during the storage. Ca delayed the increase of SSC during the storage. All the treatments, particularly postharvest UV-C, significantly delayed the berry senescence by delaying the decrease in acidity. UV-C with or without Ca, with the lowest values, significantly retarded the changes in phenols and decreased the berry decay. Ca plus UV-C treatment also effectively maintained the skin rupture force during the storage. Overall, pre-harvest micronized Ca pulverizations plus postharvest UV-C treatment can be recommended to extent the quality of table grapes cv. 'Crimson Seedless' up to 120 days at cold storage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Treating the grape with elicitors such as jasmonic, oxalic or salicylic acid can reportedly activate several defense mechanisms, including the accelerated expression of defense genes, enhances in the cell wall composition, and the accumulation of antimicrobial compounds such as phytoalexins. Salicylic acid (SA) and oxalic acid (OA) with or without MAP (Modified Atmosphere Packaging) were tested for their effects on extending storage life of grapes cv. 'Alphonse Lavallée'. After treatments (control, MAP, 5 mM OA, 2 mM SA, SA + MAP, OA + MAP) grapes were stored at 1 °C, 90% R.H. up to 60 days. Overall, all the treatments had significant positive effects on postharvest quality of grapes. SA + MAP was the most effective treatment with the lowest weight loss and decay incidence, the greatest rachis chlorophyll content and berry detachment force at the end of 60 d storage. Effects of SA were also very close to those obtained by the combined treatment. SA alone or SA + MAP treatment may be recommended as an environmental friendly, healthy and sustainable method for extending postharvest quality of grapes up to 60 d, without significant adverse effect on produces. Considering the cost and ease of application, SA alone could be preferred as an effective alternative strategy for traditional chemical treatments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]