Pest Management Science (2004) 60, 815-821

Pilar Plaza, Josep Usall, Rosario Torres, Maribel Abadias, Joseph L. Smilanick and Immaculada Viñas (2004)
The use of sodium carbonate to improve curing treatments against green and blue moulds on citrus fruits
Pest Management Science 60 (8), 815-821
Abstract: The effectiveness of curing oranges and lemons at 33 °C for 65 h followed by storage under ambient and cold-storage conditions was investigated. This treatment effectively reduced the incidence of Penicillium digitatum (Pers) Sacc and P. italicum Wehmer decay on inoculated and naturally infected oranges and lemons stored at 20 °C for 7 days. However, it failed to control green and blue mould infections on fruits placed in long-term cold storage, except green mould on oranges, which was effectively controlled. Dipping fruits in a sodium carbonate solution (20 g litre^-1) for 2.5 min following a curing treatment at 33 °C for 65 h satisfactorily reduced green and blue mould incidence during subsequent long-term storage at 4 °C on oranges and at 10 °C on lemons. The efficacy was greater on injured fruits inoculated after the combination of treatments was applied, achieving a 60-80% reduction in decay in comparison with the curing treatment alone in all cases. A significant reduction of blue mould was also observed on fruits inoculated both before the treatments and on those re-inoculated after the treatments, demonstrating both protectant and eradicant activity. Thus, combining curing at 33 °C for 65 h with sodium carbonate treatment effectively controlled these post-harvest diseases on artificially inoculated citrus fruits and protected against re-infection. With naturally inoculated lemons, curing followed by sodium carbonate significantly reduced both green and blue mould incidence, but was not superior to curing alone. With naturally infected oranges, curing significantly reduced blue mould, but decay was not reduced further when followed by sodium carbonate treatment.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Pilar Plaza, Josep Usall, Rosario Torres, Maribel Abadias, Joseph L. Smilanick

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
control - general

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Penicillium digitatum	Stored fruits/vegetables	Spain (continental)
	Penicillium italicum	Stored fruits/vegetables	Spain (continental)