Control of Postharvest Decays of Blueberries by Carbon Dioxide-Enriched Atmospheres. M. J. Ceponis, Research Plant Pathologist, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Rutgers University, Postharvest Research Center, New Brunswick, NJ 08903. R. A. Cappellini, Professor, Department of Plant Pathology, Rutgers University, Postharvest Research Center, New Brunswick, NJ 08903. Plant Dis. 67:169-171. Accepted for publication 8 July 1982. 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, 1983. DOI: 10.1094/PD-67-169.

Freshly harvested blueberry fruits were cooled to 2 C in 2, 48, and 72 hr, and provided with a CO₂-enriched atmosphere averaging 12–15% during 2 wk of storage at 2 C. Rapidly cooled berries had less decay when removed from cold storage and during 3 additional days at 21 C than berries that had been cooled more slowly. Berries subjected to the CO₂-enriched atmosphere had about 50% less decay than their counterparts stored in air. The CO₂ atmosphere was more effective in retarding decays in the rapidly cooled berries than in berries cooled to 2 C in 48 or 72 hr.

Keyword(s): precooling, Vaccinium corymbosum.