Loquat is a popular fruit widely cultivated all over the world. It is rich in minerals and carotenoids and has high commercial value. At room temperature, loquat fruit is impressionable to water and nutritional losses, physical damage, and microbial decay, resulting in a short postharvest life. Low-temperature storage is routinely used to prolong the shelf life of loquat fruit; however, cold storage can also lead to lignification of flesh tissue, which is one of the major symptoms of chilling injury (CI), reducing the quality and economic value of the fruit. In addition, fruit decay caused by microbial infection is another important reason for postharvest losses of loquat. To reduce quality deterioration and optimize the postharvest storage strategies of loquat fruit, considerable progress has been made in the physiological and molecular biological studies of CI, microbial decay, and preservation technologies of loquat fruit during the postharvest phase in recent decades. This review summarizes the current research progress and provides a reference for the improvement of loquat fruit quality.
Keywords: chilling injury; cold storage; fungal disease; lignification; loquat fruit; postharvest treatment; regulatory mechanism.