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Fumigation of sweet cherries with thymol and acetic acidto reduce postharvest brown rot and blue mold rot

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2002

Chun-Lung Chu ,
Wei-Tang Liu  and
Ting Zhou
Chun-Lung Chu
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, PO Box 7000, Vineland Station, Ontario, L0R 2E0 Canada, gchu@uoguelph.ca
Wei-Tang Liu
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Agriculture, University of Guelph, PO Box 7000, Vineland Station, Ontario, L0R 2E0 Canada, gchu@uoguelph.ca
Ting Zhou
Affiliation:
Southern Crop Protection and Food Research Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, PO Box 6000, Vineland Station, Ontario, L0R 2E0 Canada
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Abstract

Introduction. Sweet cherries are susceptible to postharvest decay. The use of synthetic fungicides is discouraged in postharvest handling because they can leave a residue and present a safety risk. Therefore, naturally occurring compounds have been considered as an alternative. Fumigation of short-chain organic acids and essential oils has shown promise in controlling fungal activities. This study reports their effects on sweet cherries. Materials and method. `Hedelfingen' sweet cherries (Prunus avium L.) were inoculated with conidia of Monilinia fructicola and Penicillium expansum, then fumigated with three levels of thymol or acetic acid for 10 min before cold storage. Results and discussion. After 13 d at 10°C, sweet cherries fumigated with 10 mg × L-1 of thymol significantly reduced brown rot from 21% to 12%, but had no effect on reducing blue mold rot. Fumigation with 6 or 10 mg × L-1 acetic acid significantly reduced blue mold rot from 16% to 2%, but had no effect on reducing brown rot. Fumigation did not have any effect on the firmness, total soluble solids and titratable acid of the sweet cherries. Fumigation with 2 or 6 mg × L-1 of thymol did not accelerate stem browning compared with the control, but fumigation with 10 mg Yen L-1 of thymol caused almost total stem browning. Fumigation with acetic acid showed no impact on discoloration of the stems. Conclusion. Thus, fumigation with acetic acid or thymol at low concentrations has a potential use for postharvest decay control without adverse effects on fruit quality.

Keywords

CanadaPrunus avium (fruits)keeping qualitypostharvest decayfungal diseasesfumigationthymolacetic acidCanadaPrunus avium (fruit)aptitude à la conservationmaladie post récoltemaladie fongiquefumigationthymolacide acétique
Type
Research Article
Information
Fruits , Volume 56 , Issue 2 , March 2001 , pp. 123 - 130
Copyright
© CIRAD, EDP Sciences

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