Effect of Postharvest Calcium Treatment on Decay of Delicious Apples. W. S. Conway, Plant Pathologist, Horticultural Crops Quality Laboratory, Horticultural Science Institute, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Beltsville, MD 20705. Plant Dis. 66:402-403. Accepted for publication 13 August 1981. This article is in the public domain and not copyrightable. It may be freely reprinted with customary crediting of the source. The American Phytopathological Society, 1982. DOI: 10.1094/PD-66-402.

Delicious apples were treated with 0, 2, 4, 6, or 8% solutions of calcium chloride by dipping, vacuum infiltration (250 mm Hg), and pressure infiltration (103 kPa). After 3 mo at 0 C, the fruits were removed from storage, wounded on two sides, and inoculated with a conidial suspension of Penicillium expansum. Following additional holding at 20 C for 7 days, the apples were rated for decay severity by calculating the area of decay at the inoculation sites. Fruit tissue was also analyzed after storage for calcium content. The least decay and the highest concentration of calcium in tissues were found in those apples pressure infiltrated with 8% calcium chloride. Effectiveness in decay reduction increased as the concentration of calcium chloride in the infiltrated solution increased.

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