Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ Pummelos

‘Liuyuezao’ pummelo is highly prone to cracking, which seriously affects its quality. The aim of this study was to illustrate the effect of foliar sprays of calcium (Ca) and boron (B) and their combined treatments on the fruit cracking and quality of ‘Liuyuezao’ pummelos during the fruit expansion p...

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Main Authors: Kaiyang Du, Han Lin, Qin Luo, Tao Li, Hongyu Wu, Bin Wang, Zhixiong Guo, Tengfei Pan, Wenqin She
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-02-01
Series:Foods
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/4/595
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author Kaiyang Du
Han Lin
Qin Luo
Tao Li
Hongyu Wu
Bin Wang
Zhixiong Guo
Tengfei Pan
Wenqin She
author_facet Kaiyang Du
Han Lin
Qin Luo
Tao Li
Hongyu Wu
Bin Wang
Zhixiong Guo
Tengfei Pan
Wenqin She
author_sort Kaiyang Du
collection DOAJ
description ‘Liuyuezao’ pummelo is highly prone to cracking, which seriously affects its quality. The aim of this study was to illustrate the effect of foliar sprays of calcium (Ca) and boron (B) and their combined treatments on the fruit cracking and quality of ‘Liuyuezao’ pummelos during the fruit expansion period (40–55 days after flowering). Analysis of 12 mineral elements of the pericarp by ICP-MS revealed that the three treatments significantly increased the content of calcium and boron in the corresponding pericarp. These treatments effectively reduced the enzyme activities of pectin methylesterase (PME), polygalacturonase (PG), pectin lyase (PL), β-galactosidase (β-Gal), and cellulase (Cx) in the peel and down-regulated the expression of corresponding cell wall-degrading enzyme genes. Calcium, boron, and their combination treatments reduced water-soluble pectin (WSP) in the peel. Simultaneously, they inhibited the degradation of CDTA-soluble pectin (CSP) and Na₂CO₃-soluble pectin (NSP), thereby stabilizing the cell wall structure. Additionally, these treatments enhanced fruit skin break force (Bf) and elasticity (Ela), ultimately decreasing the fruit cracking rate. Diversification analysis showed that Ca and B elements significantly increased the sugar and vitamin C (Vc) content of ‘Liuyuezao’ pummelo fruits and reduced their organic acid content, thus improving fruit quality. The study provides new ideas on the use of fertilizer interactions to control fruit cracking and improve the quality of the pummelo fruit.
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publisher MDPI AG
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spelling doaj-art-43a3dcd3df0a4e178c323d9c9668e7032025-08-20T02:44:46ZengMDPI AGFoods2304-81582025-02-0114459510.3390/foods14040595Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ PummelosKaiyang Du0Han Lin1Qin Luo2Tao Li3Hongyu Wu4Bin Wang5Zhixiong Guo6Tengfei Pan7Wenqin She8Institute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaInstitute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaFujian Key Laboratory of Agro-Products Quality and Safety, Institute of Agricultural Quality Standards and Testing Technology Research, Fuzhou 350003, ChinaInstitute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaInstitute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaInstitute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaInstitute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaInstitute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, ChinaInstitute of Storage, Transportation and Preservation of Horticultural Products, College of Horticulture, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, Fuzhou 350002, China‘Liuyuezao’ pummelo is highly prone to cracking, which seriously affects its quality. The aim of this study was to illustrate the effect of foliar sprays of calcium (Ca) and boron (B) and their combined treatments on the fruit cracking and quality of ‘Liuyuezao’ pummelos during the fruit expansion period (40–55 days after flowering). Analysis of 12 mineral elements of the pericarp by ICP-MS revealed that the three treatments significantly increased the content of calcium and boron in the corresponding pericarp. These treatments effectively reduced the enzyme activities of pectin methylesterase (PME), polygalacturonase (PG), pectin lyase (PL), β-galactosidase (β-Gal), and cellulase (Cx) in the peel and down-regulated the expression of corresponding cell wall-degrading enzyme genes. Calcium, boron, and their combination treatments reduced water-soluble pectin (WSP) in the peel. Simultaneously, they inhibited the degradation of CDTA-soluble pectin (CSP) and Na₂CO₃-soluble pectin (NSP), thereby stabilizing the cell wall structure. Additionally, these treatments enhanced fruit skin break force (Bf) and elasticity (Ela), ultimately decreasing the fruit cracking rate. Diversification analysis showed that Ca and B elements significantly increased the sugar and vitamin C (Vc) content of ‘Liuyuezao’ pummelo fruits and reduced their organic acid content, thus improving fruit quality. The study provides new ideas on the use of fertilizer interactions to control fruit cracking and improve the quality of the pummelo fruit.https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/4/595mineral elementfruit qualitycell wallcell wall enzyme activity
spellingShingle Kaiyang Du
Han Lin
Qin Luo
Tao Li
Hongyu Wu
Bin Wang
Zhixiong Guo
Tengfei Pan
Wenqin She
Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ Pummelos
Foods
mineral element
fruit quality
cell wall
cell wall enzyme activity
title Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ Pummelos
title_full Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ Pummelos
title_fullStr Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ Pummelos
title_full_unstemmed Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ Pummelos
title_short Calcium and Boron Foliar Fertilizer to Relieve Cracking of ‘Liuyuezao’ Pummelos
title_sort calcium and boron foliar fertilizer to relieve cracking of liuyuezao pummelos
topic mineral element
fruit quality
cell wall
cell wall enzyme activity
url https://www.mdpi.com/2304-8158/14/4/595
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