Effect of the postharvest β-aminobutyric acid treatment on the inhibiton of fruit alternaria rot of pear fruit

Effect of β-aminobutyric acid( BABA) dipping on lesion development of pear fruit inoculated with Alternaria alternata and potentiation of phenylpropanoid pathway was investigated in this paper. The results indicated that the lesion diameter of pear inoculated with A.alternata was significantly decreased when BABA at50μg/m L,and the smallest lesion diameter was determined in the fruit treated for 10 min. In addition,the interval of treatment and inoculation also affected lesion development,and with inoculation the fruit 12 h after treatment showed the best result.Further studies showed that BABA increased phenylalanine ammonia lyase( PAL) activity,accumulated the total content of phenolic and flavonoids in the fruit during storage. It was suggested that BABA treatment inhibited Alternaria rot of pear by enhancing phenylpropanoid pathway in fruits.