Methyl jasmonate effects on sugarbeet root responses to postharvest dehydration

Area of Science:

• Plant Physiology
• Postharvest Biology
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Sugarbeet roots dehydrate during storage, leading to significant postharvest losses.
• Exogenous jasmonates mitigate drought stress in intact plants, but their effect on stored plant products is unknown.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate if jasmonate treatment can reduce physiological dehydration responses in postharvest sugarbeet roots.

Main Methods:

• Sugarbeet roots were treated with methyl jasmonate (MeJA) or water.
• Roots were stored under dehydrating and non-dehydrating conditions for eight weeks.
• Evaluated changes in weight, respiration, wound healing, leaf regrowth, and proline metabolism.

Main Results:

• Dehydration increased weight loss, respiration, and proline accumulation, inhibiting leaf regrowth.
• MeJA treatment slightly reduced respiration in severely dehydrated roots and hastened wound healing late in storage.
• MeJA did not affect weight loss or proline accumulation under dehydration; gene expression in proline metabolism was altered by both dehydration and MeJA.

Conclusions:

• Methyl jasmonate (MeJA) treatment offered only minor benefits against dehydration stress in stored sugarbeet roots.
• Postharvest MeJA application is unlikely to substantially reduce dehydration-related storage losses in sugarbeet.