ABSTRACT
Improving the fruit quality of Sichuan-pepper (Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim.) 'Dahongpao' by optimized GA3 treatments

Manyi Fu1, 2, Yang Wang1, 2, Mingwan Li3, Yong Lai3, Qiang Hu1, 2, Zhen Wang1, 2, Wenjing Liu1, 2, Hui Wang1, 2*, and Dangquan Zhang3
 
To improve fruit quality, application of plant growth regulators as gibberellic acid (GA3) has emerged as a significant cultivation and management method. In the study, different concentrations of GA3 solutions (25, 50, 75, and 100 mg L-1) were sprayed on Sichuan-pepper (Zanthoxylum bungeanum Maxim.; Rutaceae) ‘Dahongpao’ trees at fruit setting and enlargement stages. Spraying 75 mg L-1 GA3 was most effective at both stages: vertical diameter, transverse diameter, hundred-grain weight, and number of oil sacs on the peel increased by 12%, 5%, 12%, and 42%, respectively, at fruit setting stage; and the aforementioned indexes increased by 14%, 11%, 12%, and 35%, respectively at fruit enlargement stage. Spraying 100 mg L-1 GA3 at fruit setting stage, the content of total volatile oil, pungent compounds, non-volatile ether extracts, and total flavonoids significantly increased by 28%, 6%, 10%, and 3%, respectively; spraying 75 mg L-1 GA3 at fruit enlargement stage, the indexes increased by 33%, 27%, 13%, and 11%, respectively. The comprehensive evaluation results based on Technique for Order Preference by Similarity to an Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) indicated that GA3 treatment in a concentration of 75 mg L-1 could improve the quality of ‘Dahongpao’ fruits, thereby providing novel insights for the cultivation and management of such plant. Although spraying GA3 may change fruit quality of Z. bungeanum, influencing mechanism of GA3 treatments on the external and internal quality of Z. bungeanum fruits remains unclear.
Keywords: ?Dahongpao?, external quality, gibberellin, internal quality, Sichuan-pepper, TOPSIS, Zanthoxylum bungeanum.
1Xinyang Agricultural and Forestry University, College of Forestry, Xinyang 464000, China.
2Xinyang City Key Laboratory of Seedling and Flower Breeding, Xinyang 464000, China.
3Henan Agricultural University, College of Forestry, Zhengzhou 450046, China.
*Corresponding author (531351755@qq.com).