Effect of hexanal vapor to control postharvest decay and extend shelf-life of highbush blueberry fruit during controlled atmosphere storage

Abstract

Song, J., Fan, L., Forney, C., Campbell-Palmer, L. and Fillmore, S. 2010. Effect of hexanal vapor to control postharvest decay and extend shelf-life of highbush lueberry fruit during controlled atmosphere storage. Can. J. Plant Sci. 90: 359Á366. Postharvest disease control has become more challenging due to the limited number of registered fungicides, fungicide resistance, consumers' desire for reduced fungicide residues and demand for blemish-free, high-quality product. The interest in the use of natural alternatives to prevent fungal growth has markedly increased. Many biologically active volatile compounds, including hexanal, a natural plant volatile with antifungal properties, have been reported to reduce postharvest diseases. In this study, highbush blueberry fruit (Vaccinium corymbosum 'Duke', 'Brigitta' and 'Burlington') were treated with hexanal vapor at 900 mL L(1 for 24 h either once immediately before storage or repeated after 1 and 2 wk of CA storage (10Á12 kPa O 2 and 12Á15 kPa CO 2 ) at 0.58C for up to 15 wk. Fruit removed from storage after 3, 5, 7, 9, 12 and 15 wk were evaluated following 1 or 7 d at 108C. Decayed fruit were significantly reduced by 50Á70% in treated fruit compared with the control. A 17% reduction of split Duke fruit was also found in hexanal treated fruit after 9 wk CA storage followed by 7 d at 108C. Marketable fruit in all three cultivars was 20Á40% greater in hexanal treatments after 12 wk of storage as compared with controls. Fruit firmness increased during storage in Burlington. No significant changes in weight loss were found. These results indicate that postharvest application of hexanal vapor can reduce fruit decay, maintain fruit quality and extend storage life. It has potential as an alternative fungicide to reduce postharvest decay in highbush blueberry fruit.Key words: Postharvest, fungi, decay control, quality Song, J., Fan, L., Forney, C., Campbell-Palmer, L. et Fillmore, S. 2010. Maıˆtrise de la de´te´rioration post-messianique et prolongation de la dure´e de conservation du bleuet cultive´dans les entrepoˆts a`atmosphe`re controˆle´e graˆce aux vapeurs d'hexanal. Can. J. Plant Sci. 90: 359Á366. Il est devenu plus difficile de lutter contre les maladies apre`s la re´colte en raison du nombre restreint de fongicides homologue´s, de la re´sistance a`ces pesticides, de la diminution des re´sidus d'antiparasitaires que souhaitent les consommateurs et de la demande de fruits de qualite´, sans fle´trissures. L'inte´reˆt pour des solutions naturelles aux fongicides chimiques a conside´rablement augmente´. Des chercheurs ont rapporteĺ 'existence de nombreux compose´s volatils biologiquement actifs, dont l'hexanal, une substance volatile naturelle des plantes aux proprie´te´s antifongiques qui combat les maladies post-messianiques. Dans le cadre de cette e´tude, les chercheurs ont traite´des bleuets (cultivars Duke, Brigitta et Burlington de Vaccinium corymbosum) avec des vapeurs d'hexanal a`raison de 900 mL par litre, pendant 24 heures a`une reprise, imme´diatement avant...

Effect of Chitosan as an Antifungal and Preservative Agent on Postharvest Blueberry

“…Previous studies have proposed techniques to preserve the quality of blueberry fruit by controlling the water activity, pH, temperature, oxygen concentration, or by adding preservatives (Plascencia-Jatomea et al 2003). Several preservation methods, including cold temperature storage, modified atmosphere packaging (Beaudry et al 1998;Rosenfeld et al 1999), heat (Perkins-Veazie et al 2008), UV radiation (Fan et al 2008), ozone (Song et al 2010), electron beam irradiation (Moreno et al 2008), hexanal vapor (Song et al 2006), 1-methylcyclopropene (Chiabrando and Giacalone 2011), biodegradable package (Almenar et al 2008), as well as edible coatings (Duan et al 2011;Skurtys et al 2011;Sun et al 2014;Tezotto-Uliana et al 2014;Yang et al 2014) have been employed to delay physicochemical changes and spoilage, thereby extending the shelf life of fresh blueberry.…”

Antimicrobial Activity of Controlled-Release Chlorine Dioxide Gas on Fresh Blueberries

“…Some sanitizers, such as captan (31), difolatan (3), essential oils (37), hexanal vapor (33), and vinegar vapor (30) have also been studied for their effectiveness in controlling or reducing the growth of food pathogens in fresh blueberries.…”

Active food packaging through controlled in situ production and release of hexanal

“…Aldehydes and ketones having the chain lengths of six and nine carbons, e.g., hexanal, 3-hexanone, nonanal and 2-nonanone, function among others as inhibitors of phospholipase D activity, and of mycotoxins and ethylene syntheses (Siedow, 1991, Bleé, 1998, Tiwari and Paliyath, 2011, El Kayal et al, 2017). Thus, they have been shown to reduce the necrosis caused by the maturation and growth of pathogens (Andersen et al, 1994, Bleé, 1998, Sharma et al, 2010, Sholberg and Randall, 2007, Song et al, 2010, Tiwari and Paliyath, 2011). These compounds increase the shelf-life of fruits (Lanciotti et al, 1999, Sharma et al, 2010, Sholberg and Randall, 2007) and berries (Almenar et al, 2007, Song et al, 2010, Misran et al, 2015).…”

“…Thus, they have been shown to reduce the necrosis caused by the maturation and growth of pathogens (Andersen et al, 1994, Bleé, 1998, Sharma et al, 2010, Sholberg and Randall, 2007, Song et al, 2010, Tiwari and Paliyath, 2011). These compounds increase the shelf-life of fruits (Lanciotti et al, 1999, Sharma et al, 2010, Sholberg and Randall, 2007) and berries (Almenar et al, 2007, Song et al, 2010, Misran et al, 2015). Volatile aldehydes and ketones can be applied industrially to reduce the growth of bacteria and fungi in blueberries and pome fruits, as reported by Song et al, 1996, Almenar et al, 2007; and Sholberg & Randall, 2007.…”