Location: Commodity Protection and Quality Research
Project Number: 2034-43000-043-064-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Oct 1, 2023
End Date: Aug 31, 2024
Objective:
The project has a long-term goal to ensure pest-free security and food safety of walnuts in postharvest marketing channels via the development of efficient, economical, and environmentally benign treatments. The short-term goal is to evaluate a suite of commercially-available packaging and/or storage devices for the ability to maintain low-oxygen conditions required for organic phytosanitary treatments.
Approach:
Utilize a cooperative effort between USDA-ARS, USDA-APHIS, California industry, and foreign counterparts to address pest-related barriers to export. Particular attention will be paid to the expansion and retention of export markets for the California Walnut industry. The specific objective is to conduct 20-d confirmatory trials in at least two package types with low-oxygen (i.e., < 2% oxygen) at 15 Celsius that provides a non-chemical “organic” option to control coddling moth and navel orangeworm in exports to meet international phytosanitary requirements.
