Abscisic acid modulates mango fruit ripening

Abstract

Hard mature green mango fruit (‘Kensington Pride’) were dipped for five minutes in an aqueous solution containing 1.0 mM (+)-cis, trans-abscisic acid (ABA) and its inhibitor 0.2 mM nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) and ‘Tween 20’ (0.05%) as a surfactant and allowed to ripen at ambient temperature (21±1°C) to investigate the role of ABA in mango fruit ripening. Untreated fruit was used as a control. The exogenous application of 1.0 mM ABA accelerated ethylene production, respiration rate, fruit skin colour development and softening as well as rheological properties of pulp (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, adhesiveness and stiffness) compared to the control and inhibitor treated fruit. NDGA-treated fruit exhibited reduced ethylene production and respiration rate (48.14 and 7.71%, respectively), as well as delayed fruit softening and other rheological properties of the pulp. Exogenous application of ABA advanced accumulation of total sugars and reduction in total organic acids during fruit ripening compared to changes in control fruit and the trend was reversed in NDGA-treated fruit. The results suggest that ABA plays a key role in modulating mango fruit ripening.