Chinese jujube is one of the important medicinal plants grown in Iran. This valuable fruit, has a short post-harvest life. Delaying in quality reduction for few days can help maintaining the shelf life of fresh jujube fruit. This study was conducted to investigate the possible effects of pre-harvest foliar application of salicylic acid (0, 2 and 4 mM) and calcium nitrate (0, 1 and 2 %) on physico-chemical characteristics and shelf life of fresh jujube fruit during storage at 10-days intervals for 40 days. Results indicated that salicylic acid and calcium nitrate played an important role in maintaining and extending post-harvest quality of fresh jujube fruit, as both substances increased fruit firmness, titrable acidity, total phenolic content, antioxidant activity, ascorbic acid and catalase enzyme, but reducing total soluble solids. The highest total phenolic content (2.38 µg gallic acid/gFW), antioxidant activity (76.73mmolTrolox/g), ascorbic acid (222.4 mg/100g FW) and catalase enzyme (16.67 U. mg-1protein), and the lowest total soluble solids content (23.11%) observed in salicylic acid 4mM. Furthermore, maximum fruit firmness (4.22 N) was obtained in treatment containing calcium nitrate 2%. Treatment containing salicylic acid 2 mM and calcium nitrate 2% had the highest amount of titrable acidity TA (0.45 %). Based on the results, reducing trends of some characteristics (ascorbic acid, antioxidant and phenol) were very fast, and although useing of salicylic acid and calcium nitrate application could cause a delay in these processes, the reduction found in these characteristics could not be compensated. In other characteristics that reducing trend was slower, application of salicylic acid and calcium nitrate could cause at least a 10-day delay in the reduction of the amounts of these attributes.

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