The production of acetaldehyde, ethanol, ethylene and carbon dioxide by ripening tomatoes at 22°C was measured following inoculation with a spore suspension of Botrytis cinerea. The aim was to determine whether infections could be detected before the disease symptoms became evident. Decay became visible between days 2 and 3 following inoculation. However, ethylene could be detected more than 24 h before the first decay symptom was visible. A marked increased in CO2 could be detected only at day 4 from inoculation and was associated with decay development. Acetaldehyde evolution in Botrytis-inoculated fruit increased from day 3 to 5 from inoculation and then declined, while a marked increase in ethanol evolution was detected from day 5 only. Ethylene might be used as an early marker for infection in harvested fresh produce.

The effectiveness of a short prestorage hot water rinsing and brushing (HWRB) on resistance to decay development and chilling injury (CI) was studied on pink tomato fruit that were kept for 15 days at 5 or 12°C plus threedays at 22°C. HWRB-52°C for 15 s, or dipping the fruit at 52°C for 1 min (Hot water dip= HWD), significantly reduced decay development and completely inhibited CI symptoms after storage and marketing simulation. The HWRB-52°C treatment enhanced fruit resistance against artificially inoculated Botrytis cinerea when fruit were inoculated 24 hr after treatment. Resistance was less pronounced when the fruit were inoculated 6 hr after treatment, and disappeared completely in fruit inoculated 48 hr after HWRB treatment. On a commercial scale, treatments with hot water dips may be difficult to accomplish since 60 s is considered a long treatment time. Therefore, the alternative method of a very short (15 s) HWRB-52°C treatment would be desirable for treating fresh-harvested tomatoes. This treatment extends storability well over three weeks at 5°C by minimizing CI and enhancing resistance against pathogens during storage.

Modified-atmosphere (MA) packaging using bag-in-box Xtend® liners extended the postharvest life of nonnetted Charentais-type muskmelons ( Cucumis melo L., Cantalupensis Group, cv. Luna) by delaying over-ripening: excessive softening, change of rind color, decreased soluble solids, and the development of postharvest pathogens. The most delayed fruit ripening was achieved by an atmosphere of 13-14 kPa CO 2 and 7-10 kPa O 2 , even though ethylene concentrations were as much as 120 μL·L -1 . Charentais fruit stored in this atmosphere at 6 to 7 °C maintained marketable quality for 12 days plus additional 3 days at 20 °C. In contrast, lifespan under commercial conditions in air did not exceed 3-5 days at 10 to 11 °C plus 3 days at 20 °C. The recommended MA was achieved by using the liners with low microperforation level (total perforation area 25 × 10 -5 percent of the film surface), 8-9 fruit of total weight ≈5 kg per liner. MA packaging of Charentais melons makes possible their transportation from Israel to Europe by sea instead of air.

Application of a low-O-2 atmosphere for several days prior to storing organic banana clusters was effective in preventing decay development on the crown cuts, and in delaying ripening. Preclimacteric banana clusters (Musa spp. AAA group cultivar Ziv) were treated with a low-oxygen atmosphere (2%) at 20 degreesC for 24, 48 and 72 h immediately after harvest. After removal from low-O-2 stress, the bananas were stored at 12 degreesC for 21 d, and were then treated with ethylene at 18 degreesC for 24 h and transferred to shelf life at 20 degreesC for an additional 4 d. The low-O-2 treatments were compared with the commercial treatment of dipping the crown cuts in 0.2% thiabendazole (TBZ). The low-O-2 stress for 48 or 72 h was effective in preventing decay after shelf life, but less so than the TBZ treatment. Low-O-2 for 24 h was not effective enough, and the 72 h treatment markedly impaired colour development after ripening with ethylene. The 48 h low-O-2 treatment which resulted in the best decay prevention also retarded ripening processes (colour, firmness, respiration and ethylene production) and reduced chilling injury symptoms, without impairing the taste. The level of reducing sugars in the 48 h-treated fruit was similar to that in the control fruit after ripening and shelf life. The endogenous levels of acetaldehyde (AA) and ethanol produced by the treated fruit were lower than those in the control fruit during shelf life. It seems that there is a high potential for this physical treatment Of low-O-2 stress to replace chemical treatments, as means of maintaining the quality of organic bananas.

A unique method for simultaneously cleaning and disinfecting fresh agricultural produce has been developed (Israeli patent 116965). The fresh harvested produce is placed on several moving brushes and simultaneously rinsed and disinfected for 10 to 30 seconds with recycled hot water at temperatures between 50-65 degreesC, depending on the type of produce. This method was developed primarily to remove the dust from the calyx area of bell peppers in order to export the fruit to Europe and the USA. In addition to improving the general appearance of the fresh produce, hot water brushing also causes a 3 to 4 log reduction of the epiphytic pathogen population, thus significantly reducing decay development during storage and marketing. Treated fruits lost significantly less weight due to melting of the natural surface wax, which seals natural openings or invisible cracks on the peel. The short hot water rinse also increased fruit resistance against chilling injury and decay development.Today this technology is used commercially on sweet bell peppers, melons, mangoes, sweet com, kumquats, litchi, and tomatoes. Currently more than 140 units are operated in packinghouses, with a capacity of 500 kg to 30 tonnes of fresh harvested produce an hour. Postharvest losses have been reduced to less than 2%, thus saving Israeli farmers more than $15 million. In addition, new markets in Europe and northern America have been opened for Israeli commodities.

The aroma development in two Israeli ‘Galia’ melon cultivars (Cucumis melo var.reticulans, cv. C8 and cv. 5080), was monitored. Sensory assessment was also performed, along with measurements of firmness, colour, total soluble solids, and decay incidence. A new kind of mass spectrometric sensor measurement for aroma analysis was coupled with the headspace SPME-GC method. Generally, cv. C8 fruit had higher levels of aroma volatiles than cv. 5080 fruit, but a shorter shelf life. However, cv. 5080 fruit was firmer and had higher sugar contents and therefore, was more acceptable to consumers. In order to get the best quality, fruit should be harvested when light yellow with some green areas (colour 3). During maturity, 2-methylbutyl acetate, hexyl acetate, butyl acetate, 3-hexenyl acetate, and isobutyl acetate levels increased when the peel colour turned from green to light yellow. After applying multivariate statistics to the mass spectrometric sensor data obtained from the individual melon samples, separated factor groups were obtained from different postharvest examinations. A rapid and reliable prediction of the optimal harvest date is possible for both melon cultivars, based on the measured aroma profiles.

Retail packages of sweet corn (film-wrapped trays containing a pair of trimmed cobs) were stored at 2°C within additional plastic liners. The modified atmosphere (MA), generated in these nested packages by corn respiration, complied with the recommended range of 5–10 kPa CO2 and inhibited mold growth. Opening the liner after transfer to non-refrigerated conditions compensated for the respiration rise caused by elevated temperature, maintained the desirable MA range and prevented fermentation and off-flavor development. The produce kept for 2 weeks at 2°C within nested packages, and for 4 additional days at 20°C, and combined relatively low microbial spoilage with acceptable organoleptic quality, provided the liners were open at 20°C. The method was successfully tested during a trial shipment of sweet corn from Israel to Europe.

A rapid method for simultaneously rinsing and disinfecting fresh harvested produce using a hot‐water rinse and brushes (HWRB) was tested on Galia melon (Cucumis melo cv. reticulatus) fruit. The optimal treatment to reduce decay while maintaining fruit quality after prolonged storage and marketing simulation was 59 ± 1°C for 15 s. Trial shipments by sea transport to Europe demonstrated that treating melon with a commercial‐scale HWRB machine (3 tonnes fruit h−1) maintained significantly better overall quality of treated fruit compared with untreated fruit. Exposing spores of Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani to 60°C for about 15 s in vitro reduced germination by 48% and 42%, respectively. Employing HWRB resulted in a 3‐log reduction in total colony‐forming units (CFU) of the epiphytic microbial population, compared with untreated fruit. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) showed that HWRB removed soil, dust and fungal spores from the fruit surface, and partially or entirely sealed natural openings in the epidermis.

Sodium bicarbonate (SBC) inhibited in vitro mycelial growth of A. alternata, Fusarium spp. and R. stolonifer. SBC action was fungistatic rather than fungicidal. Coating commercially harvested ‘Galia’ and ‘Ein-Dor’ melons with wax containing 2% SBC reduced decay incidence after storage and shelf life simulation by four to seven-fold, to a commercially acceptable level of 6–7%, compared to untreated or waxed-treated controls. This treatment also maintained the fresh and blemish-free appearance of the fruit at harvest. Higher concentrations of SBC (3%) were phytotoxic and significantly reduced general fruit appearance. A trial shipment by sea transport to Europe demonstrated that 2% SBC incorporated into a wax coating maintained the marketability of ‘Galia’ melon fruits compared to that of untreated fruit. SBC can be an alternative biocide to the fungicide imazalil, thus eliminating unwanted residues on melon fruits.

Strawberry fruit, cvs. Dorit and Ofra were illuminated at 14.5 and 17.5 Wm−2, respectively, by white fluorescent light at 2 °C. A two-hour treatment was sufficient to overcome the genetic limitation of “white shoulders” (WS) in Dorit and the “poor red colour” (PRC) in cv. Ofra. Illumination enhanced both external and internal fruit colour. The fruit-quality attributes, freshness of calyx, fruit firmness and fruit decay, were not impaired by light treatment after storage simulating air or sea transport followed by shelf-life (18 °C). The described treatment reduced fruit rot in both cultivars. In fruit inoculated with Botrytis cinerea, the most common storage pathogen of strawberry, the appearance of disease symptoms was delayed.

SummarySanosil‐25, a disinfectant containing 48% hydrogen peroxide and silver salts as stabilising agents, inhibited the mycelial growth of the two main decays causing fungi of melons, Alternaria alternata and Fusarium solani in vitro at concentrations between 5000 and 10 000 μl litre‐1. However, in in vivo experiments, Sanosil‐25 markedly decreased decay at a concentration of 5000 μl litre‐1 when incorporated into a wax treatment and produced no phytotoxic effect. This treatment may provide an alternative to imazalil which, although more effective, gives problems with residue levels. A concentration of 10 000 μl litre‐1 proved phytotoxic.

Sanosil-25 is a universally applicable disinfectant compound that is highly effective against pathogenic bacteria, fungi, algac, viruses and amoebae. The compound contains 48% hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and 0.05% silver ion (Ag+) as a stabilizing agent. The ED50 for spore inhibition in vitro was 0.09% and 0.18% for Botrytis cinerea and Alternaria alternata, respectively. Germination was completely inhibited at concentrations of 0.5% and 0.7% for B. cinerea and A. alternata, respectively. The ED50 values for mycelial growth inhibition were 0.6% and 0.7% for B. cinerea and A. alternata, respectively, but for complete inhibition the effective concentrations were 1.5% and 2.0%. The effective exposure time of fungal spores was inversely related to the concentration used. Dipping commercially harvested eggplants and sweet red peppers in 0.5% Sanosil-25 reduced decay development after storage and shelf-life to a commercially acceptable level compared with an untreated control.

'Galia' melons (Cucumis melo cv. Reticulatus) exported from Israel to Europe are coated with wax containing 2000 ppm imazalil to control decay-causing fungi (Alternaria alternata and Fusarium spp). The residual level on the fruit is 3-5 ppm of imazalil, and exceeds the tolerance levels of some countries (i.e., 0.5 ppm). In this study we test an alternative treatment to imazalil. Hinokitiol (beta-thujaplicin), a volatile oil extracted from the Japanese Hiba tree (Thujopsis dolabrata), at a concentration of 750 ppm in the wax, controlled the decay-causing fungi and had no phytotoxic effect on the fruit.

The quality of `Galia' melons (Cucumis melo pv. reticulates) stored in a controlled atmosphere (CA) of 10% CO 2 plus 10% O 2 with ethylene absorbent (EA) for 14 days at 6C and an additional 6 days at 20C was significantly better than that of control fruit or fruit stored in CA only. Fruit stored in CA plus EA were firmer and exhibited less decay than fruit from the other two treatments.

A hot water dip at 50°C for 2 min was more effective than 1 KGy of gamma radiation in reducing Botrytis cinerea and Rhizopus stolonifer decay in inoculated light-red tomatoes. The combined hot water and radiation treatment acted synergistically on fungal development resulting in 1.7% and 10.0% infection by B. cinerea and R. stolonifer, respectively, after 5 days at 23°C compared with 67% and 100% infection in the non-treated controls. Under natural infection conditions, hot water dip followed by irradiation at 0.5 KGy totally eliminated decay by Alternaria alternata during 8 days at 23°C. All treatments caused more rapid fruit softening, with 20% soft fruit in the combined treated fruit compared with zero soft fruit in the non-treated control.

'Galia' melons (Cucumis melo cv. Reticulatus) exported from Israel to Europe, are with 2000 ppm imazalil. The fungicide is incorporated in the wax used to coat the melon. This treatment protects the fruit against decay caused by Alternaria alternata and Fusarium spp., and leaves a residue of 4-5 ppm imazalil in the fruit. This amount exceeds the tolarance of some European countries who allow a residue below 0.5 ppm. To overcome this problem, Other application methods were tested. Dipping or spraying the melons with 250 ppm imazalil in water followed by waxing, was as effective as the standard treatment while leaving a residue of 0.5 ppm. Testing Other fungicides such as prochloraz and orthophenyl-phenol (OPP) confirmed that much smaller amounts are needed for decay control when applied in water.

Abstract The influence of reduced atmospheric pressure on the green peach aphid, Myzus persicae , in lettuce ( Lactuca sativa L.) heads was determined. Exposing lettuce heads to a pressure of 2.66 kPa for 52 hr resulted n 100% aphid mortality, whereas the lettuce marketing quality was not affected. In view of the marked requirement for aphid-free lettuce heads, commercial use of the nonchemical reduced pressure method is suggested.