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Horticulturae
Special Issues
Alternatives to Chemicals in Fruits and Vegetables Production and Storage
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Alternatives to Chemicals in Fruits and Vegetables Production and Storage

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Postharvest Biology, Quality, Safety, and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 December 2021) | Viewed by 8421

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Elazar Fallik

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Guest Editor
ARO-the Volcani Center, Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, 68 HaMakkabbim Road, P.O. Box 15159, Rishon LeZiyyon 7505101, Israel
Interests: postharvest physiology; pathology; sensory and biochemistry issues; fruit; vegetables
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Zoran Ilic

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Guest Editor
Faculty of Agriculture, University of Pristina, Serbia, Piština, 38219 Lešak, Serbia
Interests: organic vegetables production and quality; postharvest physiology of vegetables; preharvest factors effect on qualiy (especially shadow nets and grafting)
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fruits and vegetables have always been an important component of the human diet; similarly, losses in produce have always been a limitation for modern agriculture. Losses include any damage or change in the quantity or quality of produce from harvest to consumption. The magnitude of postharvest losses in fresh produce is estimated to be 5 to 25% in developed countries and 25 to 50% in developing countries. Attempts to control the loss caused by fungi and insects are generally carried out by the application of synthetic fungicides and pesticides before and/or after harvest. However, the growing health and safety concerns regarding the residues of synthetic fungicides and pesticides, due to their carcinogenic and toxicity to humans and potential contamination of the environment, have led to alternative, nonchemical approaches to preserve the quality of fresh produce during prolonged storage and marketing. In addition, the continued mass use of fungicides and excessive levels of chemical residues have resulted in the development and proliferation of fungal resistance. Due to these growing concerns, many countries have banned the application of synthetic chemicals to fresh produce after harvest.

This Special Issue aims to summarize original scientific papers, mini reviews or review articles dealing with the use of alternative treatments to synthetic chemicals, before and/or after harvest, in maintaining the overall quality of fresh produce during prolonged storage and marketing.

You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Agronomy.

Prof. Dr. Elazar Fallik
Prof. Dr. Zoran Ilic
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Horticulturae is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2200 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • anoxia
  • biocontrol
  • fruits
  • grafting
  • GRAS (pre and postharvest application)
  • modified and controlled atmosphere
  • physical treatments
  • preharvest
  • postharvest
  • vegetables

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

19 pages, 5550 KiB  
Article
On the Biochemical and Physiological Responses of ‘Crimson Seedless’ Grapes Coated with an Edible Composite of Pectin, Polyphenylene Alcohol, and Salicylic Acid
by A. A. Lo’ay, M. M. Rabie, Haifa A. S. Alhaithloul, Suliman M. S. Alghanem, Aly M. Ibrahim, Mohamed A. Abdein and Zinab A. Abdelgawad
Horticulturae 2021, 7(11), 498; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7110498 - 15 Nov 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2565
Abstract
The ‘Crimson seedless’ grape encountered several difficulties during shelf life, including weight loss, rachis browning, and berry shattering. The effect of exogenous pectin (PE) and polyphenol alcohol (PVA) with supporting salicylic acid (SA) at different concentrations (0, 1, and 2 mM) was applied. [...] Read more.
The ‘Crimson seedless’ grape encountered several difficulties during shelf life, including weight loss, rachis browning, and berry shattering. The effect of exogenous pectin (PE) and polyphenol alcohol (PVA) with supporting salicylic acid (SA) at different concentrations (0, 1, and 2 mM) was applied. The coating was applied to bunches for 5 min and stored at room temperature (26 ± 1 °C and RH 65 ± 3%) for 4 days. In this study, postharvest application of PE + PVA-SA can significantly reduce the cell wall degradation enzyme activities of ‘Crimson seedless’ grape during shelf life. ‘Crimson seedless’ bunches, treated with PE + PVA-SA 2 mmol L−1, had a lowered rachis browning index (RB index), weight loss (WL%), and berry shattering percentage (BS%) and preserved berry color hue angle (ho) compared to untreated bunches during shelf-life duration. Moreover, the PE + PVA-SA 2 mM improved berry firmness (BF) and removal force (BRF). It also improved the soluble solid content (SSC%), titratable acidity (TA%), and SSC: TA-ratio, for assessing berry maturity. The cellular metabolism enzyme activities (CMEAs) of the cell wall such as polygalacturonase (PG), cellulase (CEL), xylanase (XYL), and pectinase (PT) were minimized by applying PE + PVA-SA 2 mM coatings throughout storage duration. The accumulation of malondialdehyde (MDA) and cell wall damage, as well as the electrolyte leakage percentage (EL%), was reduced. PE + PVA-SA 2 mM maintained DPPH radical quenching activities and minimized O2− and H2O2 production rates. Collectively, these findings suggest that PE + PVA with the presence of SA as a coating treatment preserved ‘Crimson seedless’ bunches during shelf life. PE + PVA-SA 2 mM might be at least partially ascribed to the enhancement of bunches’ quality traits as well as inhibiting cell wall damage during the shelf-life period. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternatives to Chemicals in Fruits and Vegetables Production and Storage)
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10 pages, 482 KiB  
Article
Can Edible Coatings Maintain Sweet Pepper Quality after Prolonged Storage at Sub-Optimal Temperatures?
by Shani Kehila, Sharon Alkalai-Tuvia, Daniel Chalupowicz, Elena Poverenov and Elazar Fallik
Horticulturae 2021, 7(10), 387; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7100387 - 10 Oct 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2059
Abstract
This work evaluated the efficacies of different coatings: chitosan, gelatin and chitosan-gelatin applied layer-by-layer (LbL); for maintaining the quality of sweet peppers that were stored for 3 weeks at a sub-optimal temperature (1.5 °C) and at an optimal storage temperature (7 °C). After [...] Read more.
This work evaluated the efficacies of different coatings: chitosan, gelatin and chitosan-gelatin applied layer-by-layer (LbL); for maintaining the quality of sweet peppers that were stored for 3 weeks at a sub-optimal temperature (1.5 °C) and at an optimal storage temperature (7 °C). After the cold-storage period, fruits were kept under marketing conditions (21 °C) for 3 more days. An edible chitosan coating (2%) effectively alleviated chilling injury and the incidence of decay, and also preserved the nutritional quality of sweet peppers that were kept for 3 weeks at 1.5 °C plus 3 more days at 21 °C. The chitosan coating was more effective than the two other coatings. All three coating treatments significantly reduced external CO2 production, as compared to uncoated control fruit. Storage temperatures did not significantly affect external CO2 production, although CO2 production was slightly higher at 1.5 °C. The chitosan coating exhibited good CO2 gas permeability properties and the peppers coated with that material had lower respiration rates than those in the other two experimental treatments or the control. From a practical point of view, chitosan coating could replace the plastic bags previously found to alleviate chilling injury in peppers that are stored at 1.5 °C as a quarantine treatment. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternatives to Chemicals in Fruits and Vegetables Production and Storage)
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12 pages, 2043 KiB  
Article
Inactivation of Salmonella enterica and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides on Whole Mangoes by Application of an Antimicrobial Coating Containing Oregano Essential Oil
by Martha Sánchez-Tamayo, Claudia Ochoa-Martínez and Faith Critzer
Horticulturae 2021, 7(9), 305; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae7090305 - 11 Sep 2021
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 3077
Abstract
Mangoes are susceptible to bacterial and fungal contamination during storage and transportation. This study investigated the effectiveness of pectin-based coatings containing oregano essential oil (OEO) to reduce Salmonella enterica contamination and decrease anthracnose disease on whole mangoes. A cocktail of five strains [...] Read more.
Mangoes are susceptible to bacterial and fungal contamination during storage and transportation. This study investigated the effectiveness of pectin-based coatings containing oregano essential oil (OEO) to reduce Salmonella enterica contamination and decrease anthracnose disease on whole mangoes. A cocktail of five strains of Salmonella spp. and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides strains was spot inoculated in mangoes to verify the antibacterial and antifungal activity of OEO. The inoculated mangoes were coated with pectin-based coatings containing 0, 0.5, 0.7, and 0.9% OEO. Coated fruits were stored for 11 days at 25 °C and 90% of relative humidity. All treatments with OEO effectively inhibited the growth of Salmonella, causing a reduction of 2.5 CFU/cm2 compared to the control treatment (0% OEO). In addition, coatings effectively inhibited the growth of C. gloeosporioides on the mango surface after 9 days of storage to the same extent as the traditional Prochloraz fungicide. The efficacy of coatings treatments was between 88.06 and 96.68% compared to the control treatment. Sensory analysis showed that the OEO did not affect the quality attributes of coated mango. Results showed the potential benefits of applying the pectin-based coatings with OEO as an alternative to control S. enterica and C. gloeosporioides in whole mangoes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Alternatives to Chemicals in Fruits and Vegetables Production and Storage)
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