Abstract:To screen fresh walnut varieties with good storage tolerance, ‘Xiling’ and ‘Zaoshuo’ walnuts were used as test materials. The walnuts were packaged in 0.33 mm thick polyethylene bags and stored at(0±1) ℃, with regular determinations of browning index, rot index, superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity, peroxidase(POD) activity, and malondialdehyde(MDA) content. The results showed that the water content and unsaturated fatty acid content of ‘Zaoshuo’ were higher than those of ‘Xiling’. During storage, the rate of green skin retention of both varieties gradually increased, while the kernel yield and good fruit rate gradually decreased. The differences in fat and protein contents between the two varieties were extremely significant(P<0.01): the fat content of ‘Xiling’ gradually increased, while that of ‘Zaoshuo’ showed no significant change; the protein content of ‘Xiling’ began to be consumed after approximately 60 days of storage, whereas that of ‘Zaoshuo’ started to be consumed after 20 days of storage. The activities of POD and SOD first increased and then decreased, while the MDA content first decreased and then increased. The experiment indicated that under the condition of(0±1) ℃, ‘Xiling’ had better storage resistance, with an optimal storage period of 40-60 days, and the optimal storage period of ‘Zaoshuo’ was 20-40 days.