Fumigation of Sweet Cherry (Prunus avium ‘Bing’) Fruit with Low Molecular Weight Aldehydes for Postharvest Decay Control. James P. Mattheis, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Tree Fruit Research Laboratory, 1104 N. Western Ave., Wenatchee, WA 98801. Rodney G. Roberts, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Tree Fruit Research Laboratory, 1104 N. Western Ave., Wenatchee, WA 98801. Plant Dis. 77:810-814. Accepted for publication 12 April 1993. 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, 1993. DOI: 10.1094/PD-77-0810.

Bing sweet cherries were inoculated with conidia of Penicillium expansum and then fumigated with acetaldehyde, propanal, butanal, or pentanal vapors. Conidial germination was prevented at the higher concentrations of acetaldehyde, propanal, and butanal, but extensive stem browning and fruit phytotoxicity also occurred. Stem browning was induced at lower aldehyde concentrations than fruit phytotoxicity. Treatment combinations (concentration, exposure duration) were identified that minimized decay in the absence of fruit phytotoxicity, indicating a potential use of aldehyde fumigation for processing applications.

Keyword(s): fruit storage.