Effects of combined treatment of ethephon and red light irradiation on post-harvest mango ripening

Ethephon has been a traditional postharvest ripening agent, but consumers are increasingly favoring greener ripening methods, necessitating the development of new technologies. In this study, "Tainong" mango was used as experimental material to evaluate whether the combination of red light treatment with low-dose ethephon can achieve effective ripening while reducing ethephon dosage. Three treatment groups were set up: 1200 mg·L -1 ethephon (ETH1200), 200 mg·L -1 ethephon combined with 300 lx red light irradiation (RL300+ETH200), and 50 mg·L -1 ethephon combined with 300 lx red light irradiation (RL300+ETH50). Various physiological and quality indicators were measured within 12 days. The results indicate that the ripening-promoting effect of the treatment RL300+ETH200 is similar to that of ETH1200. This treatment significantly increases the chromatic aberration of fruit pulp, advances the peaks of respiration rate and ethylene release, promotes the accumulation of total soluble solids and the decomposition of titratable acid. In addition, RL300+ETH200 significantly induces the synthesis and accumulation of monoterpenoid volatile compounds, primarily terpinolene and 3-carene, effectively enhancing the flavor of ripening mangoes. The RL300+ETH200 treatment effectively maintains total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC) as well as bioactive compounds such as ascorbic acid (AsA), total phenolics (TP), and total carotenoids, thereby effectively reducing the increase in cell membrane permeability. This technology can be applied in the future to improve and develop more precise mango ripening techniques.