Abstract
Postharvest diseases account for major economic losses worldwide, while also contributing to food waste and loss. Blue mold, caused by Penicillium expansum , is one of the most prevalent postharvest diseases of pome fruit. This necrotrophic fungal pathogen is mycotoxigenic and presents a danger to food safety via the production of patulin. In addition, fungicide resistance threatens blue mold management strategies, creating a need for the development of novel control strategies. The apple storage/processing industry uses wood and plastic harvest bins to harvest and store apples for weeks, months, and even up to 1 year. Although it has been hypothesized that apple harvest bins can serve as a viable inoculum source to incite decay, there is no experimental evidence that has conclusively demonstrated this concept. In this study, we report the presence of Penicillium spp. in apple storage bins (plastic) in the mid-Atlantic USA and developed small scale methods to test 1) if harvest bins can serve as a source of inoculum for blue mold decay and 2) evaluate novel bin sanitation methods as preventative and curative applications. We demonstrated that apple harvest bin materials can serve as a source of inoculum when in direct contact with wounded apples. Additionally, it was shown that UV-C irradiation, sodium hypochlorite, and 2-phenylethanol effectively reduce inoculum viability on plastic materials in a curative fashion. It is envisioned that these findings can aid in the development of large-scale bin sanitation strategies and their applications have great potential to impact a broader range of postharvest pathogens and stored commodities. • Plastic or wooden harvest bin materials can hold viable P. expansum conidia. • New treatments to sanitize both wooden and plastic materials have been tested. • These treatments include UV-C irradiation, sodium hypochlorite, and 2-phenylethanol. • Application of these cause a reduction in P. expansum spore viability in plastic. • The treatments are effective in fungicide sensitive and resistant P. expansum strains.
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Claims 7
Claim · model-written summary
Penicillium species were present in plastic apple storage bins in the mid-Atlantic USA.
- Taxon
- apple
Malus domesticae0 - Outcome
- presence of Penicillium spp.e0
- Setting
- mid-Atlantic USAe0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“the presence of Penicillium spp. in apple storage bins (plastic) in the mid-Atlantic USA”
Claim · model-written summary
Apple harvest bin materials served as inoculum sources when they directly contacted wounded apples.
- Taxon
- appleMalus domesticae0
- Outcome
- source of inoculume0
- Qualifier
- direct contact with wounded applese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“apple harvest bin materials can serve as a source of inoculum when in direct contact with wounded apples”
Claim · model-written summary
Plastic or wooden harvest bin materials held viable P. expansum conidia.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Outcome
- viable P. expansum conidiae0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Plastic or wooden harvest bin materials can hold viable P. expansum conidia”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
UV-C irradiation reduced inoculum viability on plastic.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- UV-C irradiatione0
- Outcome
- inoculum viabilitye0
- Direction
- reducee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-C irradiation, sodium hypochlorite, and 2-phenylethanol effectively reduce inoculum viability on plastic materials”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
Sodium hypochlorite reduced inoculum viability on plastic.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- sodium hypochloritee0
- Outcome
- inoculum viabilitye0
- Direction
- reducee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-C irradiation, sodium hypochlorite, and 2-phenylethanol effectively reduce inoculum viability on plastic materials”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
2-phenylethanol reduced inoculum viability on plastic.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- 2-phenylethanole0
- Outcome
- inoculum viabilitye0
- Direction
- reducee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“UV-C irradiation, sodium hypochlorite, and 2-phenylethanol effectively reduce inoculum viability on plastic materials”
t0“apples”
Claim · model-written summary
The sanitation treatments were effective against fungicide-sensitive and resistant P. expansum strains.
- Taxon
- applesMalus domesticat0
- Treatment
- treatmentse0
- Outcome
- effectivee0
- Direction
- effectivee0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“The treatments are effective in fungicide sensitive and resistant P. expansum strains.”
t0“apples”
The same questions in other papers
sodium hypochlorite · growth · Malus domestica (apple)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.