Reduction of gray mold development in table grapes by preharvest sprays with ethanol and calcium chloride.

摘要

Preharvest applications of a 16% ethanol (EtOH) solution, containing 1 % of calciumudchloride (CaCl2), reduced gray mold development in ‘Chasselas’ table grapes picked at a lateudharvest date, the losses due to rotten clusters dropped from 15% in controls to 5% in grapesudtreated with EtOH+CaCl2. Then over a 6-week cold storage, the losses due to gray mold rotsudwere reduced by 50% when storing EtOH+CaCl2 treated clusters, compared to untreatedudcontrols. Preliminary experiments had shown that a 2% EtOH solution was already inducingudsignificant drop of gray mold growth. A range of concentrations up to 50% ethanol had beenudtested in preliminary trials without observing damages to the vines and clusters. Theudtreatments did not induce significant changes to the fruit quality assessed by sensory analysesudon healthy berries.