2.1 Plant material and treatments
Peach (Prunus persica L. Batsch.‘Yulu’) fruits were obtained at optimum commercial maturity (about 80% maturity, accordance to grower’s recommendations) from orchards at the Fenghua Honey Peach Institute (Zhejiang, China). Fruits were selected for uniform size, homogeneous color, and absence of disease and physical damage. A total of 300 peaches were randomly divided into two groups. The treatment group was immersed in a trehalose solution, 1% (m/v), for 10 minutes, and the control group was immersed in the same volume of distilled water. Fruits were then air-dried and stored at 5 °C under 92–95% relative humidity. Sampling was performed after 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days of refrigeration. Mesocarp slices (about 1 cm thick) were frozen in liquid nitrogen and stored at –80 °C. Three replicates, consisting of 10 fruit per replicate, were taken at each time point for biochemical and molecular analyses.