Efficacy of gamma irradiation for protection against postharvest insect damage and microbial contamination of adlay

This study examines the protective effects of gamma irradiation against postharvest insect damage and microbial contamination and its effect on the nutritive value of adlay (Coix lacryma-jobi L.). Adlay was treated with doses of 0–20 kGy gamma irradiation and subsequently stored at ambient temperature. The number of insects, microbial quality and chemical properties of irradiated and non-irradiated adlay were evaluated immediately after treatment and after 6 months of storage. Before irradiation, total aerobic microbial counts ranged from 5.6 × 10² to 1.4 × 10⁵ CFU g⁻¹ and the mean total number of insects was 3.2 ± 2.1 per 100 g of polished kernel. Two kilograys was the lowest dose that provided 100% insect control. A radiation-resistant bacterium, Deinococcus radiodurans RC1, was found in 2 of 10 adlay samples. Four kilograys was a sufficient dose for Enterobacteriaceae inactivation, and 6 kGy was a sufficient dose for yeast and fungi inactivation. Twenty and 8 kGy sufficed for the inactivation of all mesophilic microbes in samples with and without D. radiodurans, separately. Moreover the moisture, ash, crude fiber, crude fat, crude protein and riboflavin content all remained constant. However, 8 kGy irradiation reduced vitamin B1 concentration by 24.2%, but did not measurably reduce the amount of amino acids, except methionine and cysteine. Fatty acid contents did not alter after 8 kGy irradiation, but changes were observed after the 6 months of storage. These changes caused by irradiation were no greater than those caused by the 6-month storage. Irradiation up to 8 kGy did not markedly increase the acid value, but did increase the peroxide value to 13% of the initial value right after irradiation. However, significant changes in acid value and peroxide value were noted after 6 months of storage both in non-irradiated and post-irradiated storage samples. Additionally, 8 kGy irradiation did not significantly change the adlay appearance. The improvement in the hygiene of this vital food source compensates for the small loss of some nutritional constituents. Hence 8 kGy of gamma irradiation can be used in cold decontamination of adlay to prolong shelf-life, to improve postharvest quality, and to reduce the risk of food-borne disease.     

Effects of gamma and UV-C irradiation on the postharvest control of papaya anthracnose

Anthracnose is the main postharvest disease in papaya fruit. Today, there is considerable interest on alternative methods of control to promote resistance against pathogens and supplement or replace the use of fungicides. The goal of this work was to evaluate the effects of gamma and UV-C irradiation on Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the causal agent of anthracnose. Mycelial growth, sporulation, and conidial germination were evaluated in vitro after fungal exposition to different irradiation doses. In the in vivo assays, ‘Golden’ papaya fruit were inoculated through subcuticular injections of a conidial suspension or mycelium discs. Next, fruit were submitted to different irradiation doses (0, 0.12, 0.25, 0.5, 0.75, and 1 kGy), using Co⁶⁰ as source, or UV-C (0, 0.2, 0.4, 0.84, 1.3, and 2.4 kJ m⁻²). To check the possibility of resistance induction by irradiation, papayas were also inoculated 24, 48, or 72 h after the treatments. The fruit were stored at 25 °C/80% RH for 7 days and evaluated for incidence and rot severity. The results showed that the 0.75 and 1 kGy doses inhibited conidial germination and mycelial growth in vitro. All doses increased fungal sporulation. The 0.75 and 1 kGy doses reduced anthracnose incidence and severity, but did not reduce them when the fruit were inoculated after irradiation. All UV-C doses inhibited conidial germination and those higher than 0.84 kJ m⁻² inhibited mycelial growth. The 0.4, 0.84, and 1.3 kJ m⁻² UV-C doses reduced fungal sporulation in vitro. There was no effect of UV-C doses and time intervals between treatment and inoculation on anthracnose control and fungal sporulation in fruit lesions. Moreover, all UV-C doses caused scald on the fruit. Thus, gamma irradiation can contribute for the reduction of postharvest losses caused by anthracnose and reduce the use or doses of fungicides on disease control.     

The efficacy of ultrasonic fumigation for disinfestation of storage facilities against postharvest pathogens

Inoculum of postharvest pathogens can accumulate inside storage rooms and contaminate new batches of fruit and vegetables, but this chain can be broken by disinfecting storage facilities between storage periods. Quaternary ammonium (QA) has been known for over 50 years as an efficient disinfectant against microorganisms, with wide applications in the food industry. The aim of this study was to determine the efficacy of didecyldimethylammonium chloride (Sporekill, designated here as QA^sk), against development of Botrytis cinerea after direct exposure or by ultrasonic fogging. Following direct exposure to a concentration of QA^sk below 5 mg L^?1, a population of 10⁴ conidia of B. cinerea was inactivated after 2 min; ultrasonic fogging with QA^sk at 500 mg L^?1 took 30 min to achieve consistent inactivation. Fumigation at 20 °C was considerably more effective than fumigation at 5 °C, and similar results were obtained for three other postharvest pathogens, Penicillium expansum, Colletotrichum gloeosporioides and Alternaria alternata. These results show that conidia of B. cinerea are highly sensitive to direct exposure to QA^sk, but that effective sanitation of a storage facility by ultrasonic fumigation requires a QA^sk concentration two orders of magnitude greater.     

Selection and evaluation of new antagonists for their efficacy against postharvest brown rot of peaches

During the growing seasons 2007 and 2008, 210 isolates of yeasts or yeast-like fungi were obtained from the carposphere of temperate fruit collected from organic orchards in Northern Italy. Through six rounds of in vivo screening, three isolates showing the highest biocontrol efficacy against Monilinia laxa on peaches were selected. By using molecular and morphological tools, the strain AP6 was identified as Pseudozyma fusiformata, the strain AP47 as Metschnikowia sp., and the strain PL5 as Aureobasidium pullulans. This research represents the first evidence about the potential use of P. fusiformata to control postharvest diseases of fruit. By co-culturing in vitro M. laxa in the presence of the three antagonists, neither the inactivated cells nor the culture filtrate of the three isolates had any significant effect on spore germination or germ tube elongation, allowing exclusion of the production of secreted toxic metabolites. The antagonistic activity of A. pullulans PL5 and P. fusiformata AP6 was dependent on the cell concentration. Metschnikowia sp. AP47 significantly inhibited spore germination at the three concentrations tested (10⁶ cells/mL, 10⁷ cells/mL, and 10⁸ cells/mL). The efficacy of the three strains was tested on peaches stored at three different temperatures, and their effectiveness was higher at 1 °C than at 8 °C or 20 °C. In trials carried out in semi-commercial conditions with peaches inoculated by spraying 10⁵ spores/mL of M. laxa and stored for 21 d at 1 °C and 96% RH, a cell concentration effect on the control of brown rot incidence was observed. AP6 and PL5 showed no significant differences in efficacy when applied at 1 × 10⁸ cells/mL or at 1 × 10⁷ cells/mL, indicating that they could be used at a lower concentration in potential biofungicide formulations. Finally, in an experiment in semi-commercial conditions on fruit not inoculated with the pathogen with 21 d storage at 1 °C and 96% RH, the evaluation of postharvest quality parameters, including firmness, total soluble solids, ascorbic acid content, and titratable acidity, showed that none of the three screened antagonists impaired peach quality, when applied before storage. The present study identified three antagonistic microorganisms with potential exploitation as active ingredients for the development of products for postharvest control of brown rot on peaches.     

Effects of X-ray irradiation and sodium carbonate treatments on postharvest Penicillium decay and quality attributes of clementine mandarins

The integration of sodium carbonate (SC; dips at 20 °C for 150 s in aqueous 3% SC solutions) treatments and X-ray irradiation (at doses of 510 and 875 Gy) was evaluated on artificially inoculated ‘Clemenules’ clementine mandarins for the control of postharvest green and blue molds, caused by Penicillium digitatum and Penicillium italicum, respectively. Although significant, the reduction of both disease incidence (number of infected fruit) and severity (lesion diameter) on fruit either incubated at 20 °C for 7 days or cold-stored at 5 °C for 21 days was not sufficient for satisfactory disease control under hypothetical commercial conditions. Therefore, the combined treatments could not be a substitute for conventional chemical fungicides. However, pathogen sporulation was greatly inhibited on infected clementines, thus X-irradiation could be of value for management of Penicillium resistant strains and to reduce inoculum levels in citrus packinghouses. X-ray irradiation at 195, 395, 510, and 875 Gy did not influence either decay incidence or the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) of lesions of green and blue molds on mandarins inoculated with the pathogens 2, 3, or 6 days after irradiation and incubated for 7 days at 20 °C. Therefore, X-ray treatment did not induce disease resistance in the rind of irradiated fruit. Although X-irradiation at doses up to 875 Gy followed by either 14 days at 20 °C or 60 days at 5 °C caused very slight rind pitting, minor decreases in fruit firmness, and modest increases in juice acetaldehyde and ethanol contents, these changes had no practical impact on fruit quality. Rind color, titratable acidity, soluble solids concentration, maturity index and juice yield were not influenced by irradiation. ‘Clemenules’ can be considered as a clementine cultivar highly tolerant to X-irradiation.     

Activity of extracts from wild edible herbs against postharvest fungal diseases of fruit and vegetables

The use of plant extracts could be a useful alternative to synthetic fungicides in the management of rot fungi during postharvest handling of fruit and vegetables. The aim of this study was to assess the in vitro and in vivo activity of extracts obtained from nine wild edible herbaceous species (Borago officinalis, Orobanche crenata, Plantago coronopus, P. lanceolata, Sanguisorba minor, Silene vulgaris, Sonchus asper, Sonchus oleraceus, and Taraxacum officinale) against some important postharvest pathogens, i.e. Botrytis cinerea, Monilinia laxa, Penicillium digitatum, P. expansum, P. italicum, Aspergillus carbonarius, and A. niger. Phenolic composition of all extracts was evaluated by HPLC. Several derivatives of caffeic acid, of the flavones apigenin and luteolin, and of the flavonols kaempferol and quercetin, were identified. Extracts from S. minor and O. crenata showed the highest efficacy in all the trials. In particular, S. minor completely inhibited in vitro the conidial germination of M. laxa, P. digitatum, P. italicum, and A. niger and strongly reduced those of B. cinerea; O. crenata extract showed a lower but still significant reduction of conidial germination on all the tested fungi. Moreover, the extracts from both species were effective in reducing the germ tube elongation also when a slight inhibition of conidial germination was observed. In many cases, a dose effect was observed, with an increase of antifungal activity as the phenolic concentration increased. In trials performed on wounded fruit, S. minor extract completely inhibited brown rot on apricots and nectarines; O. crenata extract strongly reduced grey mould, brown rot, and green mould on table grapes, apricots and nectarines, and oranges, respectively. The inhibition efficacy of extracts was ascribed to the presence of some caffeic acid derivatives and/or flavonoids. HPLC phenolic analyses provided useful information to identify the possible active compounds.     

可食性野生草药活性提取物对果蔬采后病害的抑制活性

植物提取物中的活性成分可以有选择性地应用于果蔬采后防腐剂的合成。本研究的目的是为了评价9种可食性野生草药(Borago officinalis,Orobanche crenata,Plantago coronopus,P.lanceolata,Sanguisorba minor,Silene vulgaris,Sonchus asper,Sonchus oleraceus和Taraxacum officinale)提取物对于一些重要的果蔬采后病原菌,如灰霉菌(Botrytis cinerea)、核果褐腐病菌(Monilinia laxa)、指状青霉菌(Penicillium digitatum)、扩展青梅菌(P.expansum)、意大利青霉菌(P.italicum)、碳黑曲霉菌(Aspergillus carbonarius)及黑曲霉菌(A.niger)在离体培养和生物体中的抑制活性。通过高效液相色谱技术(HPLC)对所有草药提取物中的酚类成分进行分析鉴定,得到其主要成分包括一些咖啡酸衍生物、黄酮衍生物芹黄素和木犀草素、黄酮醇衍生物山奈酚和槲皮素。在所有草药提取物中,以S.minor(小地榆)和O.crenata(锯齿列当)两种草药提取物的抑菌活性最强,特别是S.minor的提取物在离体培养中完全抑制了核果类褐腐病菌、指状青霉及黑曲霉菌的孢子萌发,并且显著降低了灰霉菌的孢子萌发率;O.crenata提取物的抑菌活性虽小于S.minor,但仍然显著降低了所有供试病原真菌的孢子萌发率。此外,这两种草药提取物在抑制病原菌孢子萌发的初期就能有效抑制孢子芽管的伸长。在很多情况下,草药提取物的抑菌活性表现出剂量效应,随着提取物中酚类物质浓度的升高,其抑菌活性增强。在受损伤的活体果实上进行抑菌试验的结果表明,S.minor提取物完全抑制了杏和油桃褐腐病的发生;O.crenata提取物分别有效降低了鲜食葡萄灰霉病、杏及油桃褐腐病、柑橘绿霉病的发病率。可食性草药提取物的抑菌活性来自于其中的一些咖啡酸衍生物和/或黄酮类物质。本研究对提取物中酚类成分的HPLC分析为提取物中有效抑菌成分的鉴定提供了有利的依据。     

Effect of gamma and ultraviolet irradiation on adventitious regeneration from in vitro cultured pear leaves

Summary Irradiation of in vitro explants and subsequent adventitious regeneration has been tested for 4 commercially important varieties of pear (Pyrus communis) with the aim to create mutants with a reduced susceptibility to fire-blight (Erwinia amylovora). The effect of gamma and ultraviolet irradiation of leaves on adventitious regeneration ability has been studied. The LD50 (50% decrease of regeneration) after gamma irradiation was genotype-dependent and was between 20 and 50 grays. The curves of regeneration showed a threshold dose underneath which none or a very slight decrease was registered. The decrease might result from cumulative events. After an ultraviolet irradiation as low as 62.5 J/m², the leaves became crumbly and rolled up, and their metabolism seemed to be altered. The LD50 was about 125 J/m² for all varieties and the decrease of regeneration was linear. Histological investigations showed leaves with flattened epidermal cells after ultraviolet irradiation and slack spongy parenchyma after gamma irradiation.Abbreviations Gy grays - J joules - LD lethal dose     

Mechanisms of action and efficacy of four isolates of the yeast Metschnikowia pulcherrima active against postharvest pathogens on apples

The mechanisms of action and efficacy of four isolates (GS37, GS88, GA102, and BIO126) of the yeast Metschnikowia pulcherrima against Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum, Alternaria sp., and Monilia sp., all postharvest pathogens of apple fruit, were studied in vitro and on apples, in controlled and semi-commercial conditions. An application of a cell suspension (10⁸ cells per ml) of the antagonists in artificial wounds of apples reduced growth of B. cinerea and P. expansum after storage at 23 °C. A complete suppression of the pathogen was obtained against Monilia sp., stored at 23 °C, and against B. cinerea and P. expansum, stored at 4 °C. The results against Alternaria sp. were more variable. Applications of culture filtrates and autoclaved cells of the isolates were ineffective in reducing the diameter of the lesions on the fruit, supporting the hypothesis that living cells are necessary for biocontrol. In experiments of antagonism in vitro, on different solid substrates, a reduction in the mycelium growth of the pathogens resulted, so that, at least in vitro, the antagonists could produce some diffusible toxic metabolites. In co-cultivation in vitro on a synthetic medium, B. cinerea spore (10⁵ ml⁻¹) germination was completely inhibited by the presence of 10⁸ cells of the antagonists, while culture filtrates and autoclaved suspensions were not able to reduce germination. Dipping boxes of apples cv. Golden delicious in a suspension of 10⁷ antagonist cells per ml and storing for 8 months in controlled atmosphere at 1 °C, showed levels of control against B. cinerea and P. expansum similar to those from thiabendazole.     

滔罗定对大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌混合感染鸡的药效学试验

摘要：研究了滔罗定的体外抑菌效果及对人工混合感染雏鸡大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌病的治疗效果。采用试管两倍稀释法测定滔罗定对大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌的最小抑菌浓度。选择180只4日龄罗曼雏鸡随机分为健康组（Ⅰ）,感染对照组（Ⅱ),氟苯尼考治疗对照组（Ⅲ）和滔罗定高、中、低剂量组（Ⅳ、Ⅴ、Ⅵ）等6个不同处理组,进行人工致病治疗试验。试验结果：与感染对照组相比,滔罗定高、中剂量组的死亡率分别降低了20.0%、16.7%,治愈率分别提高了23.3%、16.6%,差异均极显著(P<0.01);滔罗定高、中剂量组的有效率和治愈率均高于氟苯尼考组,但差异不显著(P>0.05);滔罗定对大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌的最小抑菌浓度大于或等于256 μg/mL。结果表明,滔罗定对人工混合感染雏鸡大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌病具有一定的治疗效果。     

滔罗定的体外抑菌作用及对人工混合感染鸡的疗效试验观察

研究了滔罗定的体外抑菌效果及对人工混合感染雏鸡大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌的治疗效果.采用试管两倍稀释法测定滔罗定对大肠杆菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、沙门氏菌、绿脓杆菌标准菌株和临床分离菌株的最小抑菌浓度.选择180只4日龄罗曼雏鸡随机分为健康组(Ⅰ),感染对照组(Ⅱ),氟苯尼考治疗对照组(Ⅲ)和滔罗定高、中、低剂量组(Ⅳ、Ⅴ、Ⅵ)等6个不同处理组,进行人工致病治疗试验.试验结果:滔罗定对受试菌株的体外最小抑菌浓度≥256μg/ml.治疗试验中,与感染对照组相比,滔罗定高、中剂量组的死亡率分别降低了20.0%、16.7%,治愈率分别提高了23.3%、16.6%,差异均极显著(P＜0.01);滔罗定高、中剂量组的有效率和治愈率均高于氟苯尼考组,但差异不显著(P＞0.05).结果表明,滔罗定的体外抑菌效果较差,但对人工混合感染雏鸡大肠杆菌和沙门氏菌具有一定的治疗效果.     

Timing and sequence of postharvest fungicide and biocontrol agent applications for control of pear decay

Postharvest decay of pear fruit often originates at small wounds that occur during harvest and handling. Experiments were conducted to characterize the effect of timing of application of postharvest decay control materials, and to evaluate sequential postharvest applications of fungicides or fungicides and biocontrol agents. Fungicides and biocontrol agents were increasingly less effective when the period between harvest and application was prolonged. Thiabendazole (TBZ) applied to fruit without artificial wounding or inoculation effectively reduced decay when applied within 3 weeks or 6 weeks in 2 years of study. TBZ, fludioxonil, and pyrimethanil were effective in controlling decay at artificial wounds inoculated with Penicillium expansum up to 14 d after inoculation. Application of TBZ at harvest followed 3 weeks later by application of fludioxonil was superior to application of TBZ at harvest alone. Three yeast and one bacterial biocontrol agents reduced decay at pear wounds inoculated with P. expansum up to 14 d after inoculation with P. expansum, but were ineffective when applied at 28 d after inoculation. Of possible sequential arrangements of fungicide and biocontrol treatments, application of the most effective material promptly after harvest generally resulted in the highest level of decay control.     

Mutation breeding of Highgate (Musa acuminata, AAA) for tolerance to Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense using gamma irradiation

Explants of in vitro-grown cultures of banana (Musa spp., AAA Group cv. Highgate) were exposed to various doses of gamma radiation to evaluate the effectiveness of inducing mutations and also with the aim of producing variants tolerant to the fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense. This fungus causes fusarial wilt or Panama Disease in banana and plantain. Based on phenotypic variations in regenerated plants, factors of effectiveness were calculated for each type of explant. Factors of effectiveness for Types I and III explants (recently dissected apices and corms respectively) showed a similar trend and were higher than that from Type II explants (apices cultured in liquid medium for 28 days). The highest factors of effectiveness were obtained at doses of 0.8 and 2.0 krad for explant Types I and III respectively. Regenerated plants were screened for tolerance to the fungus under greenhouse conditions. Twelve weeks after inoculation, 9 (0.9%), 3 (0.3%) and 8 (0.5%) plants regenerated from explant Types I, II and III respectively had less than 10% vascular invasion of their corms with no external symptoms of the disease. These plants were considered tolerant to the fungus and were multiplied, ex vitro, for field screening. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Efficacy of 1-MCP treatment in tomato fruit: 1. Duration and concentration of 1-MCP treatment to gain an effective delay of postharvest ripening

‘Raf’ tomato fruit were harvested at the mature-green stage and treated with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) at 0.5 (for 3, 6, 12 or 24 h) or 1 μl l⁻¹ for 3 or 6 h. Fruit were stored at 10 °C for 7 days and a further 4 days at 20 °C for a shelf life period. All 1-MCP treatments reduced both ethylene production and respiration rate and in turn retarded the changes in parameters related to fruit ripening, such as fruit softening, colour (a^*) change, and increase in ripening index (TSS/TA ratio). These effects were significantly higher when 1-MCP was applied at 0.5 μl l⁻¹ for 24 h. In order to obtain the maximum benefit from 1-MCP, this treatment would be the most suitable for commercial purposes.     

Coat protein-mediated protection against plum pox virus in herbaceous model plants and transformation of apricot and plum

Summary The expression of the viral coat protein gene in transgenic plants has been shown to induce tolerance against virus infection (Beachy et al., 1990). Transgenic plants ofNicotiana clevelandii andNicotiana benthamiana- herbaceous host plants for PPV - transformed withAgrobacterium strain LBA 4404 containing the plasmid pBinPPVm, regenerated on selection media containing kanamycin were tested for the expression of the PPV coat protein gene by ELISA and immuno western blot. After rooting and acclimatisation plants were tested for the protection against PPV Following the inoculation plants were investigated for symptom development and virus accumulation. Different lines were identified, according to the different reaction to the mechanical inoculation, ranging from a complete absence to a strong reduction of symptoms. There have not been many reports on transformation of trees in general, and in fruit trees particularly. It is obvious that the major obstacle is the regeneration of transformed plantlets. Attempts to improve crop plants by genetic engineering techniques will always depend very strongly on the availability of reliable protocols for transformation, selection and regeneration (Laimer et al., 1989, 1990). Different systems involving juvenile and adult plant material have been developed allowing the transfer of foreign genes into apricot and plum cultivars. We report the transformation and regeneration ofPrunus armeniaca andPrunus domestica plants withAgrobacterium tumefaciens strain LBA 4404 containing various binary plasmids, pBinGUSint, carrying the marker geneβ-glucuronidase (GUS) and pBinPPVm, carrying the coat protein gene of Plum Pox Virus (PPV), the causal agent of Sharka disease. The marker geneGUS was used for the optical evaluation of the efficiency of different transformation systems involving cotyledons of immature embryos as well as somatic embryos and leaf discs. The coat protein gene of PPV was used to introduce the coat protein mediated resistance against one of the most important pathogens of stone fruit trees in Europe and the whole Mediterranean area.     

A methodological approach for the identification and quantification of sources of biological variance in postharvest research

A correct identification and quantification of the different sources of variance in an experimental dataset is of utmost importance, for instance, when comparing treatment groups, or in the case where there is a need for describing the (future) behaviour of a batch of biological products. The total data variance can be split up into two different parts, one describing the biological variance due to the natural heterogeneity of the batch and the other describing the uncertainty due to the imperfect measurement of the attribute considered. The classical approach to include biological variance in postharvest research is to use a two stage approach in which in a first stage a (non-linear) model is built for each product individually, whereafter inferences are based on the parameters obtained from the first stage. In this contribution, we propose a methodological approach to identify and quantify the different sources of biological variance, using the concept of (non-linear) mixed effects models. Such models are a useful tool to handle repeated measures data containing a high biological variance. The concept is demonstrated on a practical dataset of postharvest firmness changes in mangoes. It is shown that aside from the differences in biological age of the mangoes, the decay rate also varies among mangoes. Furthermore, it is shown that the biological variance is the dominating source of variance during the experiment.     

Ultralow oxygen treatment for postharvest control of western flower thrips, Frankliniella occidentalis (Thysanoptera: Thripidae), on iceberg lettuce: I. Effects of temperature, time, and oxygen level on insect mortality and lettuce quality

Ultralow oxygen (ULO) treatments with different oxygen levels, treatment times, and temperatures were studied to determine effects on western flower thrips mortality and postharvest quality of iceberg lettuce. Thrips mortality increased with reduced oxygen level and increased treatment time and temperature. At 0.003% oxygen, over 99.6% mortality rates of thrips were achieved in three ULO treatments of 2, 3, and 4 d at 10, 5, and 1 °C, respectively. No treatments caused injury to lettuce surface leaves and there was no reduction in visual quality for treated lettuce. However, about 9–33% of lettuce heads sustained injury to heartleaves. The 2 d ULO treatment with 0.003% oxygen had the lowest injury rate to heartleaves and the injury increased with increased treatment duration. The amount of injured leaves was small (<2 g per head). There were also some variations among the lettuce cultivars in susceptibility to heartleaf injury by ULO treatments. Four out of eight cultivars tested tolerated the 2 d ULO treatment at 10 °C without any injury. Therefore, ULO treatment has potential to be developed as an alternative postharvest treatment for western flower thrips on iceberg lettuce.     

Evaluation of Lippia scaberrima essential oil and some pure terpenoid constituents as postharvest mycobiocides for avocado fruit

Mycobiocides are attracting research interest worldwide as possible postharvest pathogen control measures to replace synthetic fungicides. In this study, the application of two essential oils as fungicides was evaluated. Initially, the in vitro antifungal effects of Lippia scaberrima essential oil and three of the major oil components, (d)-limonene, R-(−)-carvone, and 1,8-cineole, as well as that of S-(+)-carvone, were investigated against Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Lasiodiplodia theobromae, and an Alternaria isolate. The oil and terpenoids caused significant inhibition of the mycelial growth of all the pathogens when applied at a concentration of 2000 μL L⁻¹. The most potent volatile component of L. scaberrima essential oil, able to inhibit all the pathogens tested, proved to be R-(−)-carvone. The efficacy of the essential oil (1000 and 2000 μL L⁻¹) incorporated into the commercial coating was confirmed on fruit inoculated with two of the pathogens. A simulated export trial was done using Lippia essential oil, in addition to Mentha spicata (spearmint) essential oil, as supplements for fruit coatings. Results indicate that essential oils rich in R-(−)-carvone could be valuable alternatives to synthetic fungicides for the postharvest management of avocado fruit. The combination of essential oils with a commercial coating, acceptable to the organic market, offers additional protection to this vulnerable commodity.