Dearest Anoop,

                                  sure improved plant nutrition will trigger an improvement in shelf life of fruits. For example in Ghana, farmers who used organic compost for their tomato production could store it longer than those who were using chemical fertilizers.  

Yes , improved  mineral nutrition will certainly improves the shelf life of fruits  and their storage behavior.

I agree with all the above researchers. Moreover, it depends on the species. For example, for potato and onion, increased nitrogen can reduce storage life, whereas Ca can have a beneficial effect on the shelf life of most fruits and vegetables. However, we have to have also in mind the harvest stage as well as other preharvest conditions (e.g. irrigation, sunscalds, curing treatment for onion and potato, mechanical injuries etc.) and genotype. 

Could you please elaborate on the possible mecahnisms  involved

When we are talking about positive effects of nutrition on fruit\s shelf life, I personally like to focus on Ca roles. Suitable Ca nutrition in right time reduce tip burn in watermelon, lettuce... internal breakdown in apple... endocarp lesion in pistachio.... Spraying CaCl2 4-8 times in apple or pear orchards lead to incredible fruit quality enhancement. I have seen very interesting results from K nutrition on grape, apple... quality, TSS and color.  

Thanks Ershadi. Please throw some light on possible biochemical pathway(s). What sequence of events takes place in response to K-nutrition or Ca-nutrition.

In addition to the answer of Ershadi - calcium sprays (0.1 up to a maximum 0.2% v/v  CaCl2 in spraying mixture/solution) along apple fruit development help to reduce bitter pit. High relations K+Mg/Ca (under Brazilian conditions somewhat beyond 35) do result in higher physiological disorders attributed to Ca deficiency. Calcium moves slowly in tissues (therefore under water deficit years we have observed more bitter pit in apples, sometimes even at harvest and during storage). One explanation is that Ca helps to strenghten cell walls (Ca pectates). K is absorbed preferentially over Ca. Also when N is high (N/Ca relation in the range of 40) we have seen more decay incidence during storage.

Hi again, K has an important role in sugar transition from leaves to different sources. Enough K nutrition reslts in better sugar reserve in fruits and subsequently higher fruit dry matter, color (sugar has specific role in anthocyanine accumulation),  storability... 

Interesting discourse for which I thank all who have participated thus far. The reason is simple. My eight years and counting of teaching Biology has always been appreciated by students except when I touch on the topic of Improving the Shelf Life of fruits and vegetables using radioactive technology; the facial expressions are unmistakable with respect to the level of disapproval. This discourse has provided me with a digression in walking the "Tight Path" when next i discuss alternative ways in improving shelf life.

Thanks Shek. This is   a subject , though, looks so simple , but needs a lot to be researched. Very limited research  papers have accrued in this very promising area. and , research needs to go beyond the nutrients like K, Ca , ...

Definitely, specially if you can supply some of the micro-nutrients..for example in Citrus cultivation, micro-nutrients are crucial for fruit quality & shelf life.

We have done some research, proving that field application of KCl in papaya cultivation can reduce post-harvest disease conditions in papaya fruits, thus extending its shelf life.

Can you pass on your work to me Piumika , if it is published in some journals. What was mechanism involved if you can elaborate further.

Dear Anoop, in our investigations on broccoli different nitrogen fertilization did not lead to differences in storability, although some inititial non-destructive indexes (NDVI, L*) were influenced by N.

Dear Theresa, that's the problem .There are still conflicting research outcomes . Although , theoretically , it sounds so convincing . And , interestingly , you will see little data on this very important aspect of plant nutrition vis-a-vis shelf life of edible plant part.  There is only some inroads made  into the role nutrients like K , Ca .... Why not you expect some improvements in shelf life through better acquisition  of nutrients like Fe , Zn , Mn  which are the integral part of dismutases, which are so well known in detoxifying  reactive oxygen species.  

 Usually nutrition experiments focus mostly on yield and quality. That's why most of them deal with the main macronutrients (N, P, K), as well as with Ca, Mg and S. Shelf life assessment is a collatelar issue. Moreover, micronutrients requirements are very little and it is easy to exceed the normal requirements, especially in field trials.

Another issue to have in mind is interaction between nutrients which can lead in deficiencies or toxicities. So, when you increase the dose of one nutrient you might cause a deficiency in another one and would be difficult to interpret the results in terms of shelf life of the final product. Will be any differences the result of the higher dose of the applied nutrient or the deficiency of another?

However. it would be interesting to assess the effect of micronutrients such as Fe, Mn, Zn etc., but you have to focus on plant secondary metabolites and enzymes activity in order to  explain any differences.

Micronutrient requirement of annuals could be little but with regard to perennial fruits , micronutrient reuirement is considerable. However , when you consider their uptake , amount becomes quite substantial.More important is to identify their deficiency when their genesis starts taking off , and this goes on simply unwarranted to growers. 

My response remained incomplete.To add further to my earlier response , we have yet not traced the response of nutrients like Fe, Mn , Zn , B with regard to time of fruit maturity . Ant-oxidant profiling in response to these  nutrients is another issue to look at .Such avenues will surely add  some newer dimensions to plant nutrition research  , with some practical advantages to good agricultural practices.    

Sulfur is an essential nutrient for plant growth. In recent years, sulfur deficiencies have become more frequent and the importance of sulfur in crop production is becoming more and more recognized. Although it is considered a secondary nutrient, it is now becoming recognized as the 'fourth macronutrient', along with nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. 

 This text was taken from: http://www.smart-fertilizer.com/articles/sulfur

I agree with this information.

Best regards!!

Plant nutrition will strengthen the antioxidant profile of the plant and hence improve self life of fruits could be realised. Cony is right in her observation. 

Yes I feel so. Improved plant nutrition will activate  dismutases  to improve resistance various biotic and abiotic stresses.

Yes. Since a deficiency of nutrients can deteriorate fruits after harvesting, sufficient nutrition can increase its shelf life. however it depends on the nutrient in concern. For example Ca and K may increase fruit shelf life while increasing N can reduce it. other non essential nutrient such as Si may also increase fruit shelf life. it is an interesting field of research to go through in details.

Shelf life of fruits depends on how good is the structure of the cells of the fruit and the enzyme activities inside those cells. the structure of the cell walls depends on Ca and the enzyme activities depends on the presence of some micro nutrients which act as co-enzyme. so, the presence or deficiencies of such nutrients and/or a balance between them will diffidently determine the shelf life of the fruits.

So you mean , fruits harvested from high

fertile soils will have higher shelf life compared to fruits harvested from fertility depleted soils....

From my own planting experience, I barred herbs in the soil around fruit trees, the fruits have tastier fruits, longer harvest time on the tree and after picking up, can keep fresh for a longer time.

Calcium for sure have a very important role in fruit storage .

Yes, I think improved plant nutrition will improve the shelf life of fruits.

For example, vegetable oils are rich in vitamin E, a natural antioxidant now produced in large quantities in China. In the process of oil refining, a large amount of refined VE mixture can be recovered. But its price is relatively high, general application is less, mainly used for health food, baby food and other high-value food. It is recommended to consider the use of fruits and vegetables in places where they are extremely scarce.

Pectin decomposers in fruits and vegetables also play a role in improving the freshness preservation of fruits and vegetables, because their enzyme decomposers have antibacterial effects in acidic environment. So if you can take some measures to enrich the pectin breakdown in the fruit or other ways to increase its content, I think it will also be beneficial to improve the shelf life of the fruit.

Guo xiuzhi et al. also reported that K, Ca, Al, Ag, Ni, Go and Zn could increase the osmotic potential of solution and help to maintain the balance of water. Among them, CaCl2 can reduce the level of membrane lipid peroxidation and maintain the similar stability of membrane structure.

Cheng qingmin of shanxi agricultural university showed that fresh dates coated with lard, rapeseed oil, starch, emulsifier and water can reduce the loss of VC, maintain the original flavor and extend the storage period.

In conclusion, I think it is necessary to study the relationship between the improvement of plant nutrition and the improvement of fruit shelf life. After understanding the influence mechanism of various nutrients on the putrefication of fruits, it is of great significance to make rational use of their ingredients, such as coating of related ingredients or other methods, to improve the shelf life of fruits and increase the income of fruit farmers.

Nutrition has always played vital role in promoting healthy aging. Shelf life of fruit is an aging process. To impart nutrition plant health along with soil health is vital in determination of fruit nutrition. Shelf life is aging process and to promote healthy aging healthy nutritious environment is essential. Nutrient composition of fruit is depended on soil health, plant health, climatic conditioning and plants own defense system.

موضوع ومناقشة مثيرة للاهتمام .....

Please put it in English.Regards