Revealing the crucial role of cuticular wax components in postharvest chilling injury of plums (Prunus Salicina Lindl.)

The occurrence of chilling injury is closely related to changes in wax. In this study, we investigated the relationship in plum fruit between wax presence (CK) and removal of epicuticular wax (REW) based on micromorphology and metabolomics. The results showed that wax reduced the incidence of chilling injury in plum fruit and slowed down the rate of loss of fruit firmness, and that the abundant wax structure not only protected the epidermal cells but also inhibited high-intensity respiration of the fruit. The correlation analysis between wax components and chilling injury illustrated that triterpene components were positively correlated with the occurrence of chilling injury. In summary, the present study revealed that wax components were involved in regulating chilling injury in plums, which provides a research idea to delay and reduce the occurrence of chilling injury in plums.