Effects of Controlled Atmosphere and Calcium Infiltration on Decay of Delicious Apples. Carl E. Sams, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant and Soil Science, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 37996. William S. Conway, Research Plant Pathologist, USDA, ARS, Horticultural Crops Quality Laboratory, BARC-West, Beltsville, MD 20705. Plant Dis. 69:747-750. Accepted for publication 4 March 1985. 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, 1985. DOI: 10.1094/PD-69-747.

Delicious apples were harvested, sorted for uniformity, and divided into three 120-fruit lots. One lot was further divided and treated with 0, 2, 4, or 8% solutions of CaCl₂ by pressure infiltration (68.95 kPa). All three lots were wound-inoculated with a conidial suspension of Penicillium expansum. The CaCl₂-treated fruit were then transferred to storage at 0 C; the other two lots were placed in either 3% O₂ and 2% CO₂ or 1% O₂ controlled-atmosphere (CA) storage at 0 C. After 3 mo, the CaCl₂-treated fruit were 5–19% firmer and had 29–47% less area of decay than the control (0% CaCl₂). The 3% O₂- and 2% CO₂-treated fruit and the 1% O₂-treated fruit had 44 and 46% less area of decay and were 12 and 20% firmer, respectively, than the control fruit. After storage, all fruit were held at 20 C for 3 days. The rate of decay at 20 C was slower in the 8% CaCl₂-treated fruit than in either the CA-stored or control fruit.

Keyword(s): low-oxygen storage, postharvest.