Decay Incidence and Quality Changes of Film Packaged ‘Simeto’ Mandarins Treated with Sodium Bicarbonate

Not rinsing sodium bicarbonate (SBC) treated fruit with freshwater can reduce post-harvest decay, but it can also be phytotoxic to peel tissues. Film packaging delays the ageing of peel, due to the high in-package humidity, but this also stimulates the growth of pathogens. Thus, as stand-alone treatments, both SBC and film packaging present advantages, but also drawbacks. In this study, SBC phytotoxicity was effectively mitigated when ‘Simeto’ mandarins, subjected to a 2 min dip treatment in a 2% SBC solution, were packaged using Omni film (highly permeable to water vapor and gases) or Coralife SWAF 400 film (with a low permeability to water vapor, but moderately permeable to gases). In particular, the combination Coralife SWAF 400 film allowed the fruit to be stored for 7 d at 5 °C, or 14 d at 20 °C, with negligible changes in overall appearance, almost no loss caused by decay, and an average weight loss of 1.3%. The in-package air composition, similar to air in Omni packages, and with an average between 5 kPa CO2 and 16 kPa O2 in Coralife SWAF 400 packages, slightly affected the sensory and chemical qualities. Combining SBC with film packaging is a feasible method to prolong the post-harvest life of citrus fruit, and control post-harvest diseases, while avoiding the use of synthetic fungicides

Decay Incidence and Quality Changes of Film Packaged ‘Simeto’ Mandarins Treated with Sodium Bicarbonate

Not rinsing sodium bicarbonate (SBC) treated fruit with freshwater can reduce post-harvest decay, but it can also be phytotoxic to peel tissues. Film packaging delays the ageing of peel, due to the high in-package humidity, but this also stimulates the growth of pathogens. Thus, as stand-alone treatments, both SBC and film packaging present advantages, but also drawbacks. In this study, SBC phytotoxicity was effectively mitigated when ‘Simeto’ mandarins, subjected to a 2 min dip treatment in a 2% SBC solution, were packaged using Omni film (highly permeable to water vapor and gases) or Coralife SWAF 400 film (with a low permeability to water vapor, but moderately permeable to gases). In particular, the combination Coralife SWAF 400 film allowed the fruit to be stored for 7 d at 5 °C, or 14 d at 20 °C, with negligible changes in overall appearance, almost no loss caused by decay, and an average weight loss of 1.3%. The in-package air composition, similar to air in Omni packages, and with an average between 5 kPa CO2 and 16 kPa O2 in Coralife SWAF 400 packages, slightly affected the sensory and chemical qualities. Combining SBC with film packaging is a feasible method to prolong the post-harvest life of citrus fruit, and control post-harvest diseases, while avoiding the use of synthetic fungicides

Micromagnetic measurements of ferromagnetic materials: Validation of a 3D numerical model

This work if focused on (nondestructive) micromagnetic measurements for ferromagnetic materials in view of Material Characterization (MC). The interest in micromagnetic measurements arises from their correlation to mechanical properties. It is well known that the microstructure of a material affects both mechanical and magnetic properties, therefore it is possible to infer mechanical properties from micromagnetic measurements. This is very convenient because micromagnetic measurements canbe carried out ina fast, cheap and nondestructive manner, if compared to mechanical measurements. To date, a lot of experimental workhas been carried in the past years but there is still some lack of proper numerical models capable of modelling micromagnetic measurements, especially when considering 3D models.Inthispaperwepresentanexperimentalvalidationofanad-hoc3Dnumericalmodelcapableofmodellingtheresponseinmicromagneticcharacterizationof ferromagnetic materials

Postinfection activity, residue levels, and persistence of azoxystrobin, fludioxonil, and pyrimethanil applied alone or in combination with heat and imazalil for green mold control on inoculated oranges

The postinfection activity of azoxystrobin (AZX), fludioxonil (FLU), and pyrimethanil (PYR), applied alone or in combination with imazalil (IMZ), in controlling postharvest green mold in ‘Salustiana’ oranges inoculated with Penicillium digitatum was studied. Fruits were immersed for 30 or 60 s in (i) water or water mixtures at 20 °C containing AZX, FLU, or PYR at 600 mg/L; and (ii) IMZ at 600 mg/L, alone or in combination with AZX, FLU, or PYR at 600 mg/L. Similar treatments were performed at 50 °C using the active ingredients at half rates with respect to the treatments at 20 °C. Fungicide residues in fruits were analyzed following treatments and after 14 days of simulated shelf life at 17 °C. AZX or FLU mixtures at 20 °C for 30−60 s similarly but moderately reduced green mold decay with respect to control fruit; differences due to dip time were not significant. Superior control of decay was achieved by PYR and, especially, IMZ, applied alone or in combination with AZX, FLU, or PYR. The activity of PYR at 20 °C was significantly dependent on treatment time, whereas that of IMZ and combined treatments at 20 °C was not. The effectiveness of FLU or PYR mixtures at 50 °C in controlling decay was similar and superior to that of AZX. The action of single- or double-fungicide application was not dependent on dip time in most samples. IMZ or combined mixtures at 50 °C were consistently more effective with respect to single-fungicide treatments with AZX, FLU, or PYR. The application of heated fungicide mixtures resulted in significantly higher residue accumulation in most fruit samples compared to treatments performed at 20 °C. The degradation rate of fungicides was generally low and dependent on treatment conditions such as time, temperature, and the presence or not of other fungicides

Increasing Cold Tolerance of Cactus Pear Fruit by High-Temperature Conditioning and Film Wrapping

Pre-storage high-temperature conditioning (HTC, 38 °C, and 95% RH for 24 h) and individual film wrapping (IFW) with a perforated polyolefinic heat-shrinkable film were used as individual treatments or in combination to mitigate chilling injury of first crop cactus pear cv âGiallaâ. The fruit was stored for 21 days at either 2 or 8 °C (CS) plus 1 week of simulated marketing conditions (SMC) at 20 °C. The reduction in peel disorders and decay in HTC-treated fruit stored at 2 °C was comparable to that detected in control fruit stored at 8 °C. IFW was more efficient than HTC in reducing peel disorders, almost completely inhibited weight loss, and preserved freshness in fruit stored at 8 °C as well as in those stored at 8 °C. The internal quality of the fruit (pH, total soluble solids, titratable acidity, vitamin C, polyphenols, betaxanthins, antioxidant capacity, acetaldehyde, and ethanol) was slightly affected by treatments. Combining HTC with IFW did not improve fruit tolerance to low temperature but reduced decay with respect to individual treatments. IFW with a perforated film in combination with HTC is a good means of overcoming the stringent conditions of cold quarantine treatments, maintaining fruit freshness and reducing decay in cold-stored cactus pears