บทคัดย่องานวิจัย

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Postharvest pest management of horticultural crops by combined heat therapy and fungicide treatments. Current trends and future outlook

Schirra M

5th International Postharvest Symposium . Volume of Abstract . Verona, Italy 6-11 June 2004, p.112

2004

บทคัดย่อ

Postharvest pest management of horticultural crops by combined heat therapy and fungicide treatments. Current trends and future outlook Extensive research has been done in recent years to reduce the strong dependence of agrochemicals used for postharvest pest control of horticultural crops. Attention is focused o­n alternative strategies based o­n improved cultural practices, biological control, plant-defence promoters and such physical treatments as microwave irradiation, radio frequency treatment, heat treatments (heat therapy) and storage technologies.

Among these, postharvest heat treatments (hot water treatment, short hot water rinsing and brushing and hot air treatment) have proved capable of reducing rot development and enhancing fruit resistance to chilling injury in sensitive cultivars while retaining fruit quality during cold storage and shelf-life. Indeed, they are currently being applied to various horticultural crops o­n a large scale in several countries also to meet consumer demands for ‘organic’ crops.

Yet, in spite of heat therapy’s beneficial effects, fungicides play a key rule in pest management and cannot at present be completely replaced by other, ‘alternative’, methods. Novel, low-risk, broad-spectrum fungicides, with a diverse mechanism of action compared to other approved pesticides in a crop group, are available o­n the market and may also be used to cope the problems due to resistant strains to ‘older’ fungicides. These chemicals have proved to be very effective in decay control, and very low doses of active ingredients are required for complete suppression of pathogens when fungicide mixtures are applied as warm mixtures, due to the synergistic action of heat, enhanced active ingredient uptake, better encapsulation and diffusion of active ingredient in the cuticular wax.

The present article highlights the recent research advances in heat therapy of horticultural crops, with emphasis o­n beneficial effects of heat treatment and agrochemicals applied in combination.