*Article* **The Combined Effect of Hot Water Treatment and Chitosan Coating on Mango (***Mangifera indica* **L. cv. Kent) Fruits to Control Postharvest Deterioration and Increase Fruit Quality**

**Hoda A. Khalil 1, Mohamed F. M. Abdelkader 2, A. A. Lo'ay 3,\*, Diaa O. El-Ansary 4, Fatma K. M. Shaaban 5, Samah O. Osman 5, Ibrahim E. Shenawy 6, Hosam-Eldin Hussein Osman 7, Safaa A. Limam 8, Mohamed A. Abdein 9,\* and Zinab A. Abdelgawad <sup>10</sup>**

	- <sup>3</sup> Pomology Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University, Mansoura, El-Mansoura P.O. Box 35516, Egypt

**Abstract:** The synergistic effect of dipping in 55 ◦C for 5 min of hot water (HW) and 1% chitosan coating during the storage of mango at 13 ± 0.5 ◦C and 85%–90% relative humidity for 28 days was investigated. The combined treatment significantly suppressed the fruit decay percentage compared with both the single treatment and the control. In addition, the specific activities of key plant defenserelated enzymes, including peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT), markedly increased. The increase occurred in the pulp of the fruits treated with the combined treatment compared to those treated with HW or chitosan alone. While the control fruits showed the lowest values, the combination of pre-storage HW treatment and chitosan coating maintained higher values of flesh hue angle (h◦), vitamin C content, membrane stability index (MSI) percentage, as well as lower weight loss compared with the untreated mango fruits. The combined treatment and chitosan treatment alone delayed fruit ripening by keeping fruit firmness, lessening the continuous increase of total soluble solids (TSS), and slowing the decrease in titratable acidity (TA). The results showed that the combined application of HW treatment and chitosan coating can be used as an effective strategy to suppress postharvest decay and improve the quality of mango fruits.

**Keywords:** hot water; chitosan; mango; decay; storage; membrane stability index
