Introduction. Pomegranate fruits (Punica granatum L.) are
chilling-sensitive crops. Materials and methods. Pomegranate fruits were
treated with calcium chloride and spermidine, alone or in combination, by normal dip and
vacuum infiltration methods. The treated fruits were stored at 2 °C for 4 months. At the
end of the storage period, samples were held for 3 days at 20 °C, then the qualitative
constituents were evaluated. Results and discussion. Treated fruits exhibited
less weight loss and higher juice content than control fruits. Non-treated fruits
developed chilling injury manifested as an increase in K+ leakage and
polyphenol oxidase activity. Calcium chloride and spermidine treatments resulted in lower
soluble solid content, but some fruits showed higher titratable acidity. All treatments
significantly increased ascorbic acid content. The pH of aril juice in treated fruits was
lower than that of non-treated fruits, probably due to higher titratable acidity. Total
antioxidant activity and total phenolic content increased in treated fruits. In our study,
a correlation was observed between total phenolic content and total antioxidant activity.
Conclusion. The treatments applied in our experiments maintained overall
quality of pomegranate fruits during long-term storage. Postharvest application of calcium
and spermidine either alone or in combination could ameliorate adverse effects of low
temperature on pomegranate fruit quality during cold storage. Vacuum infiltration was as
effective as the normal dip method. However, normal dip is a simpler and faster treatment
method.