The purpose of this work was to evaluate the potential application of papers containing 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) postharvest treatment for suppressing fruit decay of fresh Anxi persimmons and its possible mechanism.

Anxi persimmon fruit were treated with papers containing 1-MCP at the dosage of 1.35 μL/L and stored at 25?±?1 °C and 85 per cent relative humidity for 35 days. During storage, the fruit decay rate and lignin content were evaluated, and the content of total phenolics, the activities of phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), chitinase (CHI), and β-1,3-glucanase (GLU) were determined by spectrophotometry.

The 1-MCP–treated persimmons displayed a lower fruit decay rate, but higher contents of lignin and total phenolics, higher activities of PAL, PPO, POD, CHI, and GLU.

The treatment with 1-MCP could inhibit the fruit decay of postharvest Anxi persimmons, which might be because 1-MCP enhanced fruit disease resistance by increasing the activities of disease resistance-associated enzymes and retaining higher contents of disease resistance-related substances in postharvest fresh Anxi persimmons. These findings indicate that papers containing 1-MCP at the dosage of 1.35 μL/L have potential application in suppressing fruit decay and extending storage life of postharvest fresh Anxi persimmons.