Control of Postharvest Diseases of Organically Grown Strawberry with Preharvest Applications of some Food Additives and Postharvest Hot Water Dips

Ethanol at 50% (v/v) and sodium bicarbonate at 1% (wt/v), either alone or in combination, were applied to organically grown strawberries 1 h before harvest to control the natural incidence of postharvest diseases. Botrytis cinerea was the major cause of decay in all of the experiments. In three experiments, ethanol significantly reduced the decay incidence after storage for 3 days at 1°C followed by 2 days at 24°C, while the efficacy of sodium bicarbonate was inconsistent. The combination of ethanol and sodium bicarbonate did not increase their efficacy. Postharvest hot water dips at 55 and 60°C for 30 s significantly reduced the decay incidence to 3.4 and 2.7%, respectively, while decay incidence in the control was 28.5% (the first experiment). The efficacy of the hot water treatments at 55 and 60°C for 30 s was consistent in three experiments. In the third experiment, the efficacy of hot water treatment at 60°C was significantly higher than that of hot water treatment at 55°C. All pre‐ and postharvest treatments significantly reduced natural fungal populations on the surfaces of fruits. None of the pre‐ and postharvest treatments caused surface injuries to the fruit or adversely affected weight loss and taste parameters.