Vol. 120 (2007): Proceedings of the Florida State Horticultural Society
Handling & Processing

Testing efficiencies of postharvest decay controls

J. A. Narciso
USDA

Published 2007-12-01

Keywords

  • moist chamber,
  • experimental method,
  • evaluation of antimicrobials

Abstract

There are ever increasing numbers of antimicrobial compounds available as treatments to extend shelf-life of minimally processed fruits and to control postharvest decay on fresh market fruit. Most microorganisms are controlled by specific compounds or groups of compounds; to ascertain which compounds would be useful on a specific organism requires screening many different antimicrobials. A small, moist chamber system was developed that allows for rapid evaluation of many compounds and their efficiencies to control a specific organism or group of organisms.