Combined treatments of MAP and SO2 to decrease postharvest losses in tomatoes
2019
Pols, S. | Botes, A. | Williams, E. | Vries, F.
Tomato is one of the most widely cultivated horticultural crops. Despite an exponential increase in production, a translation into profit is absent especially in developing countries, due to many factors including postharvest losses. Postharvest quality is drastically influenced by fungal infection, of which Botrytis cinerea and Rhizopus stolonifer are the most commonly reported postharvest pathogens in tomatoes. The aim was to investigate the efficacy of commercially available sulphur dioxide (SO(2)) generating pads in controlling postharvest fungal infections in tomatoes. The study particularly focused on preventing the development of B. cinerea and R. stolonifer. The data showed that the most effective treatment was a combination of two SO(2) pads. The treatment successfully suppressed development of decay when the one pad was placed at the bottom of the carton, with the other pad placed on top of the fruit. Decay development of both pathogens was noticeably reduced but no statistical comparisons were made. When the SO(2) treatment was combined with modified atmosphere packaging (MAP), the decay inhibition was more effective than the SO(2) generating pads included on its own. Therefore, it was concluded that a combined treatment of SO(2) and MAP could act as a cost-effective, viable postharvest treatment to limit losses in the tomato industry.
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