Abstract:

To investigate the effects of ethephon at different concentrations on physiological changes during fruit ripening of pigment pepper,the pigment pepper cultivar Jinjiao 801 was used as the test material.During 2024—2025,six concentrations of ethephon,namely 0(CK),200(T200),400(T400),600(T600),800(T800)and 1 000 mg/L(T1000),were sprayed on fruits before harvest.Seven indicators including dry matter weight,firmness,water content,soluble sugar content,soluble protein content,vitamin C content and fruit color parameters of pigment pepper fruits were measured at five sampling time points after spraying.The results showed that ethephon spraying reduced water content and fruit firmness of pigment pepper fruits,promoted the accumulation of vitamin C,soluble sugar and soluble protein,altered fruit coloration,and accelerated fruit color turning.Across the five sampling time points in 2024—2025,the fruits treated with 600 mg/L ethephon exhibited significantly higher vitamin C,soluble sugar and soluble protein contents than those of the CK,with all three indicators reaching the maximum values at each corresponding sampling time.At 15 days after treatment,the T600 treatment significantly accelerated fruit ripening of pigment pepper,and decreased fruit water content and firmness.Compared with CK,the two-year average reduction rates were 4.88 percentage points and 32.11%,respectively.Meanwhile,T600 treatment increased the contents of vitamin C,soluble sugar and soluble protein,with two-year average increments of 28.27%,31.74% and 72.64% relative to CK.In conclusion,600 mg/L ethephon is the optimal concentration for spraying on pigmented pepper plants.This treatment can significantly regulate fruit ripening and color change,and further improve the fruit quality of pigment pepper.

Key words: Pigmented pepper, Ethephon, Vitamin C content, Soluble sugar content, Soluble protein content, Firmness, Moisture content

CLC Number: 

• S641.3