Foliar Application of Chitosan Accelerates Wound Periderm Formation with an Intensified Deposition of Suberin Polyphenolic and Lignin in the Wounds of Potato Tubers

Potato tubers are susceptible to wounding during post-harvest processes, leading to quality decline, perishability and large economic losses. In this study, the potato cultivar, ‘Longshu No.7′, was foliar-sprayed with 3% chitosan (w/v) three times during the pre-harvest period after flowering to evaluate the effect of foliar spraying with chitosan on suberization processing in the wounds of harvested potato tubers. Our results demonstrated that foliar sprayed with chitosan significantly reduced wound-induced fresh weight loss and dry rot disease index by 37.34% and 41.60% on day 28 after wounding, respectively. Foliar sprayed with chitosan accelerated the deposition of suberin polyphenolic and lignin at the wound sites of potato tubers with the formation of thicker cell layers. This occurred with increased localized activities of key enzymes in the suberin polyphenolic and lignin pathways, including phenylalanine ammonia lyase, 4-coumaryl-coenzyme A ligase, cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenase and peroxidase (33.90–64.32%), as well as the contents of cinnamic acid, sinapic acid, flavonoids, lignins and total phenolics (19.70–23.46%) in the wounded sites of potato tubers on day 7 after wounding. Our results indicated that foliar application of chitosan accelerated wound-induced suberization of potato tubers and could mitigate post-harvest product damages.