Integrated control of postharvest diseases of peaches with a yeast antagonist, hot water and modified atmosphere packaging

Abstract

An integrated approach was studied for the control of postharvest diseases of peaches including application of a yeast antagonist (Candida oleophila), hot water treatment at 55degreesC for 10s, and storage-in modified atmosphere at 0degreesC. We evaluated the efficacy of all three tactics, both as stand-alone treatments and in combination. Hot water and yeast antagonist as stand-alone treatments were not effective in controlling Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum infections on wound-inoculated peaches. In contrast, modified atmosphere packaging alone significantly reduced lesion diameters caused by the infections of both pathogens after 45 days storage at 0degreesC and 5 days at 24degreesC. The biocontrol activity of yeast antagonist was improved when yeast treatment was combined with modified atmosphere packaging. The results also indicate that all of the treatments significantly reduced the decay incidence caused by natural infections after 45 days of storage at 0degreesC followed by 5 days at 24degreesC. The highest efficacy was achieved by,the combination of all three tactics. None of the treatments caused surface damage to fruits or impaired quality.