2.1 Plant material and treatments
Peach
(Prunus persica L. Batsch.‘Yulu’) fruits were obtained at optimum commercial maturity (about 80%
maturity, accordance to grower’s recommendations) from orchards at the
Fenghua Honey Peach Institute (Zhejiang, China). Fruits were selected
for uniform size, homogeneous color, and absence of disease and physical
damage. A total of 300 peaches
were randomly divided into two groups. The treatment group was immersed
in a trehalose solution, 1% (m/v), for 10 minutes, and the control
group was immersed in the same volume of distilled water. Fruits were
then air-dried and stored at 5 °C under 92–95% relative humidity.
Sampling was performed after 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of refrigeration.
Mesocarp slices (about 1 cm thick) were frozen in liquid nitrogen and
stored at –80 °C. Three replicates, consisting of 10 fruit per
replicate, were taken at each time point for biochemical and molecular
analyses.