Scope for the Use of Polyamines in Shelf Life of Sapota

Sapota is one of the fruits, which is highly perishable due to its quick ripening nature and faster senescence. To maintain and/or increase the shelf life of sapota, proper postharvest management is required. Unfortunately, very little work has been done so far, on shelf life enhancement of sapota. Different pre and postharvest treatments to reduce metabolic activity and quality loss have been suggested. Ripening of fruit is a mechanism, which involves a complex network of interacting genes and signaling pathways. Polyamines play very important role in ripening mechanism and post harvest management of fruits. They are organic compounds having two or more primary amino groups and are positively charged nitrogenous compounds derived from amino acids. (Adam and Murty,2013). This review describes how polyamines extend shelf life in fruits and their possible scope in sapota for the same.