Relevanceofhotwatertreatmentsfordecaycontrol.docVIP

Relevance of hot water treatments for decay control Fran?ois Warlop1 and Gilbert Bompeix2 1Groupe de Recherche en Agriculture Biologique, warlop.grab@tiscali.fr 2Université de Jussieu, gilles.bompeix@wanadoo.fr SUMMARY In France, postharvest decay can lead to important losses in the case of stone fruits, as for pome fruits. Many farm-research trials with natural fungicides (vegetal extracts, mineral compounds) gave no satisfying results yet, and conventional growers also face difficulties to manage diseases with resistance appearance, and inputs reduction strategy to fit consumers expectations. Postharvest treatments seem to have an interest to decrease development of decay (Monilia sp., Rhizopus sp., Penicillium sp.,...) in storage rooms. Hot water treatment offers many advantages (compared to active compounds used after harvest) that will be presented hereafter. Its use in packing houses however remains tough, since cultivar susceptibility to heat injury may vary, professional needs and constraints are often different, and because industrial offer is still limited. Keywords : thermotherapy, peach, apple, economics, postharvest INTRODUCTION Postharvest decay is responsible for significant losses on stone fruits (peach, nectarine), and also pippen fruits (apple, pear). The susceptibility of freshly harvested produce to postharvest diseases increases during a prolonged storage, as a result of physiological changes that enable pathogens to develop in the fruits (Eckert and Ogawa, 1988). Organic fruits are mainly concerned, but conventional ones look more and more exposed, since some fungicides are not efficient on some fungi strains due to resistance appearance. Also, short persistence of these synthetic compounds applied in orchards can lead to higher damages if the ecological niche is afterward free for wound parasites such as Penicillium sp, Rhizopus sp., … Control strategies to decrease Monilia sp. infestation in orchards have not been very successful at this