Influence of Melatonin Treatments on Fruit Quality and Storage Life of Sweet Cherry cv. 'Sweetheart'

The study was carried out to determine the effect of melatonin on quality and postharvest life of sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) cv. 'Sweetheart' during storage. The fruits were dipped at different concentrations of melatonin (0, 250, 500 and 1000 mu mol l(-1) for 10 min) and distilled water as control. The changes of sweet cherries were assessed at 7-day intervals by evaluating the following quality parameters: firmness, soluble solids content, titratable acidity, respiration rate, color values (L* and chroma), ascorbic acid content, total anthocyanin content, total phenolic content, and antioxidant activity. The results showed that increasing the dose to 1000 mu mol l(-1) melatonin had a remarkable effect on maintaining the quality of sweet cherry. 1000 mu mol l(-1) and 500 mu mol l(-1) melatonin treatments significantly inhibited the decrease in firmness, ascorbic acid, total phenols, total anthocyanin, antioxidant content and reduced color changes and respiration rate. However, the total soluble solids content and titratable acidity of the fruit were not influenced by melatonin applications. These findings indicate that melatonin treatment may be effective in maintaining quality and bioactive compounds of sweet cherry fruit.