Skip to main content. Authors M. Alonso, L. Palou, M. Abstract Quarantine treatments must be currently applied to Spanish citrus export shipments to markets such as the US because of the endemic presence in the Mediterranean area of the Mediterranean fruit fly Ceratitis capitata Diptera: Tephritidae. The current accepted quarantine treatment is fruit exposure to temperatures ranging from 1. Alternative or complementary treatments are needed because fruit quality of some cold sensitive cultivars can be adversely affected by this treatment.
Since CO 2 has shown insecticidal activity, short-term exposure to this gas may be an interesting complement. The following quality and sensory attributes were analyzed on treated and control fruit: rind color and firmness, maturity index, juice yield, the fermentative volatile compounds ethanol and acetaldehyde, taste, and chewiness.
No general negative effects were observed in CO 2 -exposed fruit. However, ethanol content on treated fruit did not reach mg per ml of juice. As a conclusion, exposure to CO 2 -enriched atmospheres shows promise as a complementary treatment for the control of C. Citation Alonso, M. Acta Hortic. Keywords citrus, postharvest, cold storage, Mediterranean fruit fly, Ceratitis capitata , quarantine treatments, carbon dioxide. Groups Division Postharvest and Quality Assurance.
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