Preharvest application of salicylic acid, ethephon and allantoin enhances ripening and fruit quality of grape cv. Flame Seedless in subtropical condition of North India

Downloads

Published

2025-12-31

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2025.82.4.7

Keywords:

Grape, allantoin, salicylic acid, ethephon, berry colour, anthocyanins
Dimensions Badge

Issue

Vol. 82 No. 04 (2025): Indian Journal of Horticulture

Section

Research Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Gurpreet Singh, N K Arora, Gagandeep Kaur, Rachna Arora

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Authors

  • Gurpreet Singh Department of Fruit Science, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Punjab 141004, India
  • N K Arora Department of Fruit Science, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Punjab 141004, India
  • Gagandeep Kaur Department of Fruit Science, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Punjab 141004, India
  • Rachna Arora Department of Fruit Science, Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana, Punjab 141004, India

Abstract

The present study investigated the effect of pre-harvest application of allantoin and salicylic acid (SA) on ripening behaviour, berry colour development, and fruit quality of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Flame Seedless under subtropical conditions. The experiment was conducted over two consecutive seasons (2023-2024) using single and double applications of allantoin (750, 1000 and 1250 ppm) and Salicylic acid (1, 2 and 3 mM), with ethephon (400 ppm) as a reference treatment and an untreated control. Ethephon significantly advanced ripening by 6-7 days, improved berry redness (a* value), and resulted in the highest total soluble solids (TSS), TSS:acidity ratio, total sugars, and anthocyanin content. Among the alternative treatments, double application of allantoin at 1250 ppm markedly enhanced berry colour, anthocyanin accumulation, and total phenolic content, producing colour development comparable to ethephon. Single applications of allantoin significantly increased tartaric acid concentration and antioxidant activity, indicating its positive influence on biochemical quality attributes. Salicylic acid treatments improved TSS and total sugar content but consistently delayed ripening by 2-3 days and showed limited effectiveness in enhancing berry colour. The untreated control recorded the lowest values for most quality parameters. Overall, the findings suggest that pre-harvest application of allantoin, particularly at higher concentrations with double sprays, is a promising alternative to conventional ripening agents for improving colour development and biochemical quality of Flame Seedless grapes under subtropical conditions.

How to Cite

Singh, G., Arora, N. K., Kaur, G., & Arora, R. (2025). Preharvest application of salicylic acid, ethephon and allantoin enhances ripening and fruit quality of grape cv. Flame Seedless in subtropical condition of North India. Indian Journal of Horticulture, 82(04), 427–432. https://doi.org/10.58993/ijh/2025.82.4.7

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

1. Anonymous 2024. https://agriwelfare.gov.in/en/ StatHortEst

2. Anonymous 2024. Package of practices for fruit crops. Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana, Pp 1.

3. Arora, N.K., Arora, R., Kaur, G. and Gill, M.I.S. 2022. Effect of time of pruning and hydrogen cyanamide application on harvesting time and fruit quality in grapes (Vitis vinifera L.). Agric. Res. J. 59: 896-902.

4. Champa, W. H., Gill, M. I. S., Mahajan, B. V. C. and Arora, N. K. 2015. Preharvest salicylic acid treatments to improve quality and postharvest life of table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.) cv. Flame Seedless. J. Food Sci. Technol. 52: 3607-16.

5. Coombe, B. G. and Hale, C. R. 1973. The hormone content of ripening grape berries and the effects of growth substance treatments. Pl. Physiol. 51: 629-34.

6. Ferrara, G., Mazzeo, A., Matarrese, A.M.S., Pacucci, C., Trani, A., Fidelibus, M.W. and Gambacorta, G. 2016. Ethephon as a potential abscission agent for table grapes: Effects on pre-harvest abscission, fruit quality and residue. Front. in Plant Sci. 7: 620.

7. Hayat, Q., Hayat, S., Irfan, M. and Ahmad, A. 2010. Effect of exogenous salicylic acid under changing environment: a review. Environ. Exp. Bot. 68: 14-25.

8. Hazarika, T. K. and Marak, T. 2022. Salicylic acid and oxalic acid in enhancing the quality and extending the shelf life of grape cv. Thompson seedless. Food Sci. Technol. Int. 28: 463-75.

9. Kadlag, S., Singh, V. and Deshmukh, N. 2025. Effect of ABA and ethephon on berry quality and maturation in ‘Red Globe’ grapes. Appl. Fruit Sci. 67: 262.

10. Kakan, X., Yu, Y., Li, S., Li, X., Huang, R. and Wang, J. 2021. Ascorbic acid modulation by ABI4 transcriptional repression of VTC2 in the salt tolerance of Arabidopsis. BMC Plant Biol. 21: 1-12.

11. Karlidag, H., Yildirim, E. and Turan, M. 2009. Exogenous applications of salicylic acid affect quality and yield of strawberry grown under antifrost heated greenhouse conditions. J. Plant Nutr. Soil Sci. 172: 270-76.

12. Lu, M. Z., Carter, A. M. and Tegeder, M. 2022. Altering ureide transport in nodulated soybean results in whole-plant adjustments of metabolism, assimilate partitioning, and sink strength. J. Plant Physiol. 269: 153613.

13. Mady, M. A. 2009. Effect of foliar application with salicylic acid and vitamin E on growth and productivity of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) Plant. J. Plant Prod. 34: 6715-26.

14. Marzouk, H. A. and Kassem, H. A. 2011. Improving yield, quality, and shelf life of Thompson Seedless grapevine by preharvest foliar applications. Sci. Hortic. 130: 425-30.

15. Moriyama, A., Nojiri, M., Watanabe, G., Enoki, S. and Suzuki, S. 2020. Exogenous allantoin improves anthocyanin accumulation in grape berry skin at early stage of ripening. J. Plant Physiol. 253: 153253.

16. Neto, F. J. D., Junior, A. P., Borges, C. V., Cunha, S. R., Callili, D., Lima, G. P. P. and Tecchio, M. A. 2017. The exogenous application of abscisic acid induce accumulation of anthocyanins and phenolic compounds of the ‘Rubi’grape. Am. J. Plant Sci. 8: 2422-32.

17. Omran, Y. A. 2011. Enhanced yield and fruit quality of redglobe grapevines by abscisic acid (ABA) and ethanol applications. J. Int. Sci. Vigne. Vin. 45: 13-18.

18. Oraei, M., Panahirad, S., Zaare-Nahandi, F. and Gohari, G. 2019. Pre-véraison treatment of salicylic acid to enhance anthocyanin content of grape (Vitis vinifera L.) berries. J. Sci. Food Agric. 99: 5946-52.

19. Srivastava, K. M. and Dwivedi, U. N. 2000. Delayed ripening of banana fruit by salicylic acid. Plant Sci. 158: 87–96.

20. Tabata, K., Takaoka, T. and Esaka, M. 2002. Gene expression of ascorbic acid-related enzymes in tobacco. Phytochem. 61: 631-35.

21. Zhang, Y., Kunsong, C., Zhang, S. and Ferguson, I. 2003. The role of salicylic acid in postharvest ripening of kiwi fruit. Postharvest. Biol. Technol. 28: 67–74.

Similar Articles

<< < 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 > >> 

You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.