New strategies to reduce apple decay and maintain fruit quality during postharvest with low environmental impact are crucial. Thus, we aimed to assess the effects of pre-harvest foliar silicon (Si) application on decay incidence, metabolism, and overall fruit quality of ‘Galaxy’ apples at harvest and after cold storage. The experiments were performed during four seasons in commercial orchards and stored in cold rooms, and the following treatments were evaluated: 0, 1.12, 2.24, and 3.36 g L⁻¹ of foliar sodium silicate (SS) (2015-16 and 2017-18 seasons), 0, 1.68, and 3.36 g L⁻¹ of foliar SS (2018-19 and 2019-20 seasons), and 0, 1.68, and 3.36 g L⁻¹ of sodium metasilicate (2019-20 season). Upon being harvested, the fruit were kept in cold storage. Foliar Si treatment of ‘Galaxy’ apples did not reduce decay incidence and severity after cold storage, and in some cases, it increased decay incidence. Moreover, Si treatment did not increase physiological disorders such as russeting, bitter pit, flesh breakdown, and mealiness. In some periods, Si treatment enhanced ripening metabolism as supported by higher ethylene biosynthesis, ACC oxidase activity, and reduced flesh firmness. Therefore, foliar Si application does not provide benefits to ‘Galaxy’ apple decay control.

在采后期间减少苹果腐烂和保持水果质量且对环境影响较小的新策略至关重要。因此，我们旨在评估收获前叶面喷施硅 (Si) 对“银河”苹果在收获时和冷藏后的腐烂发生率、新陈代谢和整体果实品质的影响。实验在商业果园的四个季节进行并储存在冷藏室中，评估了以下处理：0、1.12、2.24 和 3.36 g L ^-1叶面硅酸钠 (SS)（2015-16 和 2017-18季节），0、1.68 和 3.36 g L ^-1叶面 SS（2018-19 和 2019-20 季节），以及 0、1.68 和 3.36 g L ^-1偏硅酸钠（2019-20 季节）。收获后，果实被冷藏保存。'银河'苹果的叶面硅处理并没有降低冷藏后腐烂的发生率和严重程度，在某些情况下，它会增加腐烂的发生率。此外，Si 处理不会增加生理障碍，如赤褐色、苦坑、肉分解和粉状。在某些时期，由于乙烯生物合成增加、ACC 氧化酶活性增加和果肉硬度降低，Si 处理增强了成熟代谢。因此，叶面施肥对“银河”苹果腐烂控制没有好处。