Effect of hot water brushing, prochloraz treatment and waxing on the incidence of black spot decay caused by Alternaria alternata in mango fruits.
Prusky D., Fuchs Y., Kobiler I., Roth I., Weksler A., Shalom Y., Fallik E., Zauberman G., Pesis E., Akerman M., Ykutiely O., Weisblum A., Regev R., Artes L.
Author Affiliation: Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Institute for Technology and Storage of Agricultural Products, ARO, Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel.
Postharvest Biology and Technology 15 : 165-174
Abstract : A combined hot water spray and fruit brushing (HWB) treatment for 15-20 s was developed for reducing the incidence of postharvest disease caused by A. alternata and improving mango fruit keeping quality. The efficacy of the hot water treatment was tested on Tommy Atkins, Keitt, Haden, Kent, Palmer and Lily fruits over a range of temperatures from 48 to 64°C, in combination with prochloraz treatment and fruit waxing. Hot water brushing of fruits significantly reduced decay (infected area) development by A. alternata. But after storage for 3 weeks at 12°C and another week at 20°C, the reduction of disease incidence by HWB + prochloraz treatment (900 µg/ml) was more effective than by HWB alone. HWB treatment for 15 s improved colour development and was more effective than the common, commercial 5-min dip treatment at 55°C. The combination of HWB and waxing yielded high quality fruits with less decay development.