VIEW ARTICLE
Research Concomitant Decay Reductions when Mangoes Are Treated with Heat to Control
Infestations of Caribbean Fruit Flies. Raymond G. McGuire, Agricultural
Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Subtropical Horticulture
Research Station, 13601 Old Cutler Road, Miami, FL 33158. Plant Dis.
75:946-949. Accepted for publication 18 March 1991. 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, 1991. DOI:
10.1094/PD-75-0946. Four heat treatments for quarantine control of Caribbean fruit flies (Anastrepha
suspensa) in mango (Mangifera indica) did not affect fruit quality
but variably controlled two postharvest diseases. Immersion of fruit in water at
a constant temperature of 46 C for 90–115 min significantly reduced anthracnose
(Colletotrichum gloeosporioides) on three cultivars by 60–87%. Stem end
rot (Diplodia natalensis) also was reduced 61–88% by this treatment.
Treatment by forced air at 46 C for 195 min or at 48 C for 150 min reduced
anthracnose on two cultivars, but an immersion for 150 min in which the water
temperature gradually rose to 48 C, following a gradient identical to that
created by forced air treatment, had no effect on disease severity. Although all
heat treatments led to increased weight loss during 2 wk of storage, fruit
treated by gradient hot water immersion were least affected. Hot air treatment
and gradient hot water immersion slightly accelerated the softening of fruit,
and all heat treatments hastened the development of yellow pigmentation.
Immersion in water at a constant temperature of 46 C is recommended for the
disinfestation of mangoes because it most effectively controls disease without
reducing market quality. Forced air treatment at 48 C, however, is tolerated by
the fruit and is more effective than forced air at 46 C for disease control. |