VIEW ARTICLE

Disease Control and Pest Management

Hydrocooling and Hydraircooling with Fungicides for Reduction of Postharvest Decay of Peaches. John M. Wells, Plant Pathologist, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Southeastern Fruit and Tree Nut Research Station, Byron, Georgia 31008; A. H. Bennett, Agricultural Engineer, R. B. Russell Research Center, Athens, Georgia 31008. Phytopathology 66:801-805. Accepted for publication 15 October 1975. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-66-801.

Average diameter of lesions formed on peaches inoculated with Monilinia fructicola and M. laxa, incubated at 14.5 C for 20 hours, then hydrocooled or hydraircooled with 0, 225, 450, or 900 µg/ml Botran, and held for 5 days at 4.5 C and 4-5 days at 21 C, decreased linearly with increasing Botran concentrations. Lesions on fruit inoculated with Rhizopus stolonifer were controlled with a treatment of 225 µg/ml Botran. Treatments of 225 µg/ml Botran plus 300 µg/ml benomyl controlled lesion development on inoculated fruit incubated at 24 C for 20 hours. Hydraircooling treatments generally reduced lesion development as effectively as hydrocooling treatments. Naturally-occurring decay of peaches due to brown rot (M. fructicola and M. laxa) was reduced from 38.2% in the checks to 2.5% in fruit hydrocooled with 225 µg/ml Botran plus 300 µg/ml benomyl. Losses due to brown rot and Rhizopus rot of peaches treated with 900 µg/ml Botran or 225 µg/ml Botran plus 300 µg/ml benomyl by hydrocooling were not significantly different from those treated by hydraircooling.