Effects of methyl bromide and storage time on postharvest behavior of three different cultivars of pitaya fruit

Nasser Abdi, Yosef Mizrahi

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

New clones of pitaya (also known as dragon fruit) (Hylocereus undatus) crossed with other Hylocereus spp. have become a host to the fruit fly Bactrocers spp. in Australia's Northern Territories and north Queensland, thus transport of these fruits to the rest of the country will require a disinfestation treatment with methyl bromide. This is the first research investigating the potential of methyl bromide for disinfes-tation and postharvest behavior of these new fruit crops. Main-season fruit from the three cultivars ('Golden', 'Venus', and 'Sweety') were subjected to 32 g/m3 of meth-yl bromide at 21 °C for 2 h and stored for a week at ambient temperature. At different times during the storage, fruit were examined for quality. Assessments included fruit color, flesh firmness, skin browning, brown brackets, dry head, and the presence of rot, at 2-3 day intervals. In general, the quality of the methyl bromide-treated fruit was not significantly different from the control fruits after storage for up to 3 days for 'Golden' and 'Venus', and 10 days in 'Sweety'. After that the flesh firmness declined, whereas brown brackets, skin color, and dry head increased. These defects were observed more in 'Golden' pitaya fruit than Venus and 'Sweety'. The shelf life of 'Golden' and 'Venus' fruit after methyl bromide treatment are quite similar to each other, while the 'Sweety' fruit has a longer shelf life than the other cultivars. Our results provide evidence that these clones have responded well to methyl bromide for fruit fly disinfestations and that the fruit quality of these clones during and after storage did not suffer as a consequence.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)319-324
Number of pages6
JournalIsrael Journal of Plant Sciences
Volume60
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1 Jan 2012

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics
  • Agronomy and Crop Science
  • Plant Science

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