Advances in biochemical mechanisms and control technologies to treat chilling injury in postharvest fruits and vegetables

Abstract Background Owing to the postharvest mass loss in most tropical and subtropical fruits and vegetables caused by chilling injury (CI), it is necessary to look for effective technologies to alleviate this issue. Studies thus far have found that some postharvest technologies could effectively alleviate CI in post-harvest fruits and vegetables. Scope and approach This review summarizes the temperature and symptoms of CI in common postharvest fruits and vegetables. The postharvest technologies to control CI, which comprised physical (low-temperature conditioning, heat treatment, near-freezing temperature, controlled atmosphere, edible coating and ultraviolet irradiation) and chemical (ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene, oxalic acid, calcium ions, nitric oxide, melatonin, salicylates and jasmonates, polyamines, and some other chemical substances) treatments, are also detailed. The potential biochemical mechanisms of different postharvest technologies are also proposed and attributed to the following strategies: maintaining membrane structure and sufficient energy supply, enhancing the antioxidant system, promoting the arginine pathway, regulating sugar metabolism, and activating the C-repeat/dehydration response element binding factor (CBF) genes. Key findings and conclusions This review found that a variety of postharvest treatments have been developed to control CI in postharvest fruits and vegetables. The key findings were that the effects of some postharvest treatments—such as ethylene and 1-methylcyclopropene—on fruit and vegetable CI are contradictory. Some key factors, such as the time and temperature of heat treatment and the dose of ultraviolet radiation, need to be regarded when applying postharvest technologies. Some small-molecule signal substances that from natural plant and the combination of different treatments are potential future research directions for controlling CI in postharvest fruits and vegetables.