Effect of a biostimulant on quality and postharvest life of ‘Smooth Cayenne’ pineapple fruits

The fruit of the pineapple (Ananas comosus) is highly appreciated for its visual aspects and taste, with great consumer demand all over the world. However, its offer in different parts of the world requires pre and postharvest practices to increase its shelf life. Pineapple is a fruit very sensitive to temperature changes, which make its storage life shorter and its quality depends on the crop management practices during fruit development. This work, carried out in the State of Tabasco, Mexico, in partnership with a cooperating farm, determined the effect of two treatments on the shelf life of ‘Smooth Cayenne’ pineapples: a conventional commercial treatment based on calcium and another one with a biostimulant based on carboxylic acids (Packhard^®), which is offered as an inducer of calcium pectates to strengthen cell walls of fruit tissue and increase postharvest life. Five monthly applications were done after floral induction at a dose of 5 L ha^-1 of the biostimulant. Treatments were evaluated during a 9 days postharvest storage period of the fruit, at a temperature of 25°C, based upon weight loss, color change, firmness and histological tissue alterations. The biostimulant delayed maturation, with a more gradual color change, less weight and firmness losses. Fruit tissues showed an improved cellular organization and better integrity of its cell walls.