Influence of Hot Water Dipping on the Fruit Quality of Organic Produced'Topaz' Apples

摘要

Organic 'Topaz' apples can show a high incidence of fungal rots (IMeofabraea spp) after storage. Hot water dipping (HWD) after harvest but before longer-term storage provides an effective control of storage rots and is now widely used on commercial organic orchards. The fruit quality of 'Topaz' organic apples was assessed from two harvest dates after HWD and storage at 1 °C in either regular air (RA) or controlled atmosphere (CA). After 6 months storage plus 7d shelf-life at 20 °C the incidence offungal rots was reduced in both the RA and CA HWD treatments when compared to untreated controls (UTC = no HWD). There were no changes in fruit firmness (FF), total soluble solids (TSS) and titratable acidity (TA). FF under RA storage was lower when compared to CA. No negative effects from the HWD treatment (e.g. peel damage) were observed. HWD is an effective treatment to reduce the incidence of fungal rots on organic 'Topaz' apples without a negative influence on fruit quality.