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General overview postharvest

Sheet Size (mm) 550x320 590x390 320x275

liner Size (mm) 550x320 590x390 570x370

Potection Period 6
(weeks)

CODES

wrap 603 (../../pdf/pdf_nuevos/PTLAM603- 604 (../../pdf/pdf_nuevos/PTLAM603-

604.pdf) 604.pdf)

management of blueberry decay

sheet 606-609 (../../pdf/pdf_nuevos/PTLAM606- 606 (../../pdf/pdf_nuevos/PTLAM606-
609.pdf) 609.pdf)

liner 647
(../../pdf/pdf_nuevos/PTBAG647.pdf)

Joseph Smilanick (Plant pathologist)

2360 18th Avenue, Kingsburg CA 93631
Joe.Smilanick@gmail.com, 559 859 3547
Packaging tests with Smartpac products
conducted at the USDA ARS in Parlier

Seiya Saito (Plant pathologist)

Chang-Lin Xiao (Plant pathologist)
David Obenland (Plant physiologist)
Paul Niepp (Research Technician)
Kent Fjeld (Research Technician)
USDA-Agricultural Research Service
San Joaquin Valley Agricultural Sciences Center
Parlier, CA
 Introduction

• A relatively new crop for California,

low-chill southern highbush blueberry
has made blueberry production
possible under the semiarid California
climate.
 Introduction – cont.

• As the production continues to grow, the

blueberry industries need to prolong the
storage life of blueberry.

• The postharvest life of blueberry fruit is

limited by fruit rots caused by fungal
pathogens.
 Overview

1. Major postharvest diseases of

blueberries in the Central Valley of
California

2. Evaluation of postharvest packaging for

decay control
 Mature flowers of blueberry susceptible to Alternaria and
Botrytis infection.

Botrytis cinerea early season infection of flowers

associated with postharvest rot of many hosts

Hildebrand et al., 2001. Can. J. Plant Pathol. 23:364-370

 Survey for Postharvest Diseases
• Saito et al. conducted a survey to determine
what major postharvest diseases affect
blueberries grown in 2013-2014 in the
Central Valley of California.
 Summary – Decay Survey

• Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea and

Alternaria rot caused by Alternaria alternata
and A. arborescens are the major
postharvest diseases of blueberries in the
Central Valley of California.

• Control of postharvest diseases in CA should

target gray mold and Alternaria rot.
Zhu X. Q. and Xiao C.-L. (2015) Phytopathology. 105:1555-67.
Saito S. et al. (2014) Plant Disease. 98:1743.
Saito S. et al. (2016) Mycologia. 108: 330-343.
 Botrytis management before harvest
Full bloom and mature fruit stages are the most
susceptible stages. Infections near harvest are
most important, because most bloom infections
die out before harvest.

Fungicides sprayed near harvest reduce

postharvest decay, but its hard to cover the fruit
and it may alter the bloom. 1

More than 6 h of wetness between 57 and 77 F is

enough for B. cinerea spores to infect fruit. 1

1 Rivera, Zoffoli, and Latorre, 2013 Plant Disease 97:1069-1074

 Postharvest Management Technology
SO2 generating products
Prevents decay by releasing SO2
in packages during storage.
Configured in perforated liners,
wraps, & pads
SO2
Dual Release
t
Modified atmosphere package (MAP)
Keeps fruit fresh by modifying
atmosphere inside the bag by
product respiration.
MAP bag
Low O2
High CO2

Ca. 100 ppm for 24h

Ca. 2-5 ppm afterward

SO2

Slow Release

t SUPER MARKET
Ca. 2-5 ppm continuously
 Postharvest use of sulfur dioxide
applied by chamber fumigation or by
continuous emission inside packages
to control decay
How does sulfur dioxide control fungi?
 What is a part per million?
• In this application it is a volume to volume
term, usually “ppm” is used, sometimes
“ppmv”. One volume in 1 million volumes = 1
ppm

• One pound of SO2 occupies 5.5 cubic feet (156

L) at 32oF (0oC), and 6 cu ft at 68oF (20oC)
 How to determine parts per million in
a storage room
Measure the room

One cubic foot in one million cubic feet equals one parts per million

One pound occupies 5.5 cu ft at 32F and 6.0 cu ft at 20F

So – under cold conditions, one ppm requires 0.182 pounds in 1,000,000

cubic feet

If you want 200 ppm, this would be 200 x 0.182 pounds

Once you get the pounds per one million cubic feet, multiply it by
1,000,000 divided by your room volume

See calculator next page…

How many pounds do I add to get the ppmv I want?
in blue italics = automatically calculated values
black, no italics = values you can enter and change
Measure room dimensions in feet
LENGTH 98
HEIGHT 34.1
WIDTH 299.25
Room volume = 1,000,034

Calculator solves ppmv from pounds you enter automatically

Room volume cu ft 1,000,034 From room measurements

0.999966351

Pounds SO2 added 55 Adjust pounds

until you get the

ppm you want

Parts per million 55.0 60.0

COLD ROOM WARM ROOM

Formula 32F ppm = lbs SO2 applied times 0.182 lbs per ppm times (1,000,000 cu ft/actual room volume cu ft)
 How to use dosimeters
• Watch red cultivars carefully – some bleach
easily, so use the recommended dose

• At cold storage temperatures, there is little

evidence that 3-times weekly fumigation is
better than once weekly. It takes the fungus
about one week to emerge from a deeply
infected berry and attack a nearby berry.
 How much SO2 is needed?
• A CxT product of 200 ppm for one hour kills
Botrytis spores and mycelium. This is a
concentration x time product (200 ppm x 1 h, 100
ppm x 2 h, 50 ppm x 4 h, etc.) This dose assumes:
1) package humidity is normal and high, and 2)
the fruit are at cold storage temperature or being
pre-cooled. It is too low for warm, dry conditions.

• About 3 ppm continuously inside packages stops

the spread of Botrytis mycelium in cold storage
Temperature and humidity influence on survival of conidia of Botrytis cinerea during SO2 fumigation.
A 25 µL droplet containing 100 conidia were placed on each of 100 berries 2 h before fumigation for 30 min at 0.5oC/94% RH or 35oC/26% RH. After
fumigation, the fruit were stored 3 wk at 10oC and the number of infected fruit counted. Thompson Seedless

100 0.5oC with 94% RH

35oC with 26% RH
Gray mold infected berries (%)

80

60

40

20

0
0 15 25 75 100 200 375 700
Sulfur dioxide CT product (ppm*hr)
Recommended SO2 dosage (200 ppm-h)
Confirmed with dosimeters.
Apply this dose, the pathogen is killed, but re-emerges from deeply infected grapes
Upper two – not used
Lower two – exposed to 100 ppm-hours of sulfur dioxide gas
This dose could be from:

100 ppm for 1 hour, or

50 ppm for 2 hours, or ALL EQUAL THE
SAME DOSE OF 100
25 ppm for 4 hours, or
PPM-HOURS
12.5 ppm for 8 hours
Dosimeters (Gastec 5DH) - after sulfur dioxide fumigation
• Readings after use generally stable for a week or so – you can mark the line with a sharpie
• No correction is needed
• Note paper clip “bumpers” – maybe not always needed
• You photocopy or photograph the dosimeters for your records

Recommended minimum

Too much SO2 here!

Especially with red
cultivars
 Where to place the dosimeters
• Inside packages, in contact with the grapes or
blueberries themselves

• High air velocity areas will generally experience

higher does than low air speed locations, so place
dosimeters in both.

• External and internal packaging greatly influence

the dose, so have some in each kind of package
 Another gas chlorine dioxide from sachets

CONTROL
CHLORINE DIOXIDE 0.3 g

Chlorine dioxide from sachets inside

clamshells was effective to control
decay, but dose control was critical
to avoid bleaching injury
CHLORINE DIOXIDE 0.1 g
Ethanol enables use of reduced SO2.
Ethanol enables use of reduced SO2.
Appearance of representative clusters of 'Scarlotta' grapes after 10 weeks at 0oC and 2 d
atAppearance
20oC. All of clusters
representative
were clusters
packedof 'Scarlotta'
with angrapes after 10 weeks
slow-release SOin cold storage and 2 d at shelf life. All
2 sheet above them. Although
clusters were packed with an SO2 sheet above them. (A) Single SO2 sheet. (B) Additional SO2 sheet below the
the berries of cluster B appear intact, many of them had internal decay.
grapes. (C) Ethanol-treated clusters packed with a single SO sheet above them. It should be noted that although
2
the berries of cluster B appear intact, many of them displayed internal decay symptoms.

A B C

60% decay 4.2% decay No decay