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Submitted to: Crop Management and Postharvest Handling of Horticultural Products
Publication Type: Book / Chapter Publication Acceptance Date: 6/26/2002 Publication Date: 12/20/2003 Citation: Neven, L.G. 2003. The use of combination hot forced air with controlled atmosphere for disinfestation of fresh horticultural commodities. Crop Management and Postharvest Handling of Horticultural Products. Interpretive Summary: Interpretive Summary Countries, in an effort to prevent the accidental introduction of insect pests, impose strict quarantine restrictions on fresh fruits and vegetables which may harbor these pests. In order to export these commodities, the importing country must develop procedures to ensure that these pests are not present or alive. There is great interest in developing non-chemical procedures to ensure quarantine security. One of the procedures being developed is the application of combination high temperature with low oxygen and high carbon dioxide environment to kill the insects while maintaining commodity quality. Treatments are being developed for apples, winter pears, summer pears, sweet cherries, oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, and walnuts. These treatments effectively control internal insect pests while maintaining the quality of the fruit. These treatments are more cost effective than traditional methyl bromide fumigation and may replace this chemical in the application of quarantine treatments for many fruits and vegetables. Technical Abstract: Technical Abstract This book chapter for volume II of Effects of Post-Harvest Practice on Quality details the development of combination hot forced air with controlled atmospheres for disinfestations of fresh horticultural commodities. The treatments described include those for apples, winter and summer pears, sweet cherries, citrus and walnuts. The chapter describes the history of combination heat treatments and the process in the development of combination treatments for the above-mentioned commodities. Treatments developed for apples and pears result in a delay in ripening, prevention of storage scald, and suppression of decay. These treatments were developed to provide quarantine security against codling moth, apple maggot, plum curculio (in pome fruits) and western cherry fruit fly in sweet cherries. Included is a discussion on the comparative cost of methyl bromide fumigation to combination heat/CA treatments for achieving quarantine security. |
