eng Enviro Research Publishers Current Research in Nutrition and Food Science Journal 2347-467X 2322-0007 2026-04-10 14 1 204 220 10.12944/CRNFSJ.14.1.13 25259 article Debashis Mandal 1 Marto Basar 1 Noel Lalhruaitluangi 1 Ralte Colney Lalduhsangi 1 Agnes Vanlalnghaki Fanai 1 Department of Horticulture, Aromatic and Medicinal Plants, Mizoram University, Aizawl, India Pineapple is an excellent, juicy, nutrient-rich tropical fruit of Bromeliaceae family; generally, has a short shelf life and undergoes significant loss during post-harvest handling. Therefore, the research trial was conducted with two proven plant growth regulators viz. melatonin and salicylic acid, which individually been used for controlling ripening and delaying senescence in many fruits, however, having scanty information on combined application and implication in shelf-life management of pineapple. Thus, the present study involved nine postharvest treatments viz. T₁: Melatonin (MT) @ 0.1 mM, T₂: MT@ 0.5 mM, T₃: Salicylic Acid (SA) @ 5 mM, T₄: SA@ 9 mM, T₅:  MT@ 0.1 mM+ SA@ 5mM, T₆: MT@ 0.1 mM+ SA@ 9mM, T₇: MT@ 0.5 mM+ SA@ 5mM, T₈: MT@ 0.5 mM+ SA@ 9mM, T₉: Control ( Sterile water dipped) with three replications following complete randomized design to evaluate the effectiveness on shelf life and quality of pineapple (cv. Giant Kew) fruits  during storage at ambient condition (average temperature: 22-27⁰C and relative humidity 60-80%). Results revealed that fruits treated with MT@ 0.5 mM+ SA@ 9mM (T₈) had considerably low weight loss (14.58%) with high fruit firmness (59.84 Ncm^-2), good crown condition (score: 2.00 ), appealing skin colour (L: 85.78, a: 8.22, b: 30.96) with high TSS (15.59 ⁰Brix),  retention of ascorbic acid (15.34 mg 100g^-1), flavonoids (4.21 mg QE 100g^-1) and antioxidant activity (58.49 % inhibition DPPH) at 12DAS. This treatment had controlled the ethylene gas release (10.78 µl kg^-1 h^-1) and found to control fruit decay (16.67%) with maximum shelf life (16.33 days).  Thus, present study concluded that combined application of MT@ 0.5 mM+ SA@ 9mM can be a potential postharvest treatment for shelf-life extension and quality maintenance in ambiently stored pineapple. https://www.foodandnutritionjournal.org/volume14number1/combined-postharvest-use-of-melatonin-and-salicylic-acid-extended-shelf-life-of-giant-kew-pineapples/ Antioxidant Ethylene Melatonin Pineapple Salicylic acid Shelf life