Effect of drought and shading on lime yield, bioactive compounds (vitamin C and flavanones) and postharvest life

The current context of climate change affects both the environmental and irrigation conditions under which trees are grown. The shading technique has emerged as a cropping system that can mitigate the environmental conditions surrounding plants, increasing their resilience to water stress conditions. The aim of this study was to assess the combined effect of shading and drought on the content of flavanones (hesperidin and eriocitrin) and vitamin C in lime juice at harvest, but also during a 30-day shelf-life period. In this study, trees grown in open field (0 % shading) and under shaded (20 % shading) conditions were irrigated at 100 % of crop evapotranspiration (ET c ), but were also submitted to drought (0 % ET c ). Drought caused severe water deficits in the trees, reduced lime yield and increased the concentration of bioactive compounds in the lime juice. In both treatments, the vitamin C content was similar to that at harvest after 7 days of cold storage. However, at the end of shelf-life it was completely degraded in the irrigated trees. Open field conditions induced the highest concentrations of vitamin C and flavanones in lime juice at harvest. Shaded lime juice showed a delay in the degradation of bioactive compounds during the shelf-life period compared to open field conditions. In conclusion, the concentration of both bioactive compounds increased in lime juice subjected to drought, but negatively impacted lime yield. Shading conditions delayed the degradation of flavanones during the shelf-life period, preventing a decrease in the nutritional quality of lime juice. • Vitamin C and flavanone in lime juice were influenced by irrigation strategy. • Drought-stressed trees exhibited higher levels of bioactive compounds. • Shading prevented a decline in nutritional quality of lime juice during self-life.