Unveiling the potential of calcium chloride for Botrytis blight management in cut roses using untargeted metabolomics analysis

Postharvest Calcium dip applications help decrease Botrytis blight ( Botrytis cinerea ) of cut flowers. However, the extent of metabolic perturbations initiated by calcium application and its interaction with B. cinerea infection in cut roses remained unclear. The objectives of this research were to evaluate the effect of postharvest calcium dips with and without the use of the coadjuvant Capsil® on Botrytis blight severity and petal strength of cut roses and to assess potential metabolic pathways involved in the interaction between cut roses, calcium, and B. cinerea . During an initial experiment, calcium dips were performed on ‘Orange Crush’ roses at 0, 1000, and 2000 mg L -1 Ca with and without the coadjuvant 24 h prior to inoculation with B. cinerea to determine disease severity. During a second experiment, global metabolomic analysis considered three factors: coadjuvant use, B. cinerea inoculation, or calcium application. Our results show that postharvest calcium chloride dips effectively reduced Botrytis blight severity and increased calcium concentration and resistance to rupture in the petal tissue, independently of using Capsil®. Metabolomic analysis revealed changes in the phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, flavone, and flavonol biosynthesis metabolisms for the B. cinerea inoculated samples treated with calcium chloride. Combined response to B. cinerea infection and calcium application resulted in an upregulation of sphingolipid metabolism, opposite to the response obtained with B. cinerea inoculation alone. These results prove that several metabolic perturbations occur in response to postharvest calcium dips and emphasize the importance of calcium as a management strategy for Botrytis blight. • Postharvest Ca dips at 2000 mg L −1 reduce Botrytis blight of cut roses. • Postharvest calcium dips result in metabolic changes in the rose petals. • The Ca-Botrytis-rose interaction resulted in enhanced sphingolipid metabolism.