Impact of 'brown rot' caused by Gnomoniopsis castanea on chestnut fruits during the post-harvest process: critical phases and proposed solutions.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The brown rot fungus, Gnomoniopsis castanea, is the main organism responsible for the outbreak of chestnut postharvest decay that is threatening the sustainability of the chestnut market in Europe. Currently, no specific strategy is available to mitigate the impact and remediate the high losses of fruits in postharvest storage. In the present study, the different phases of chestnut handling in a standard facility plant were analyzed by evaluating the amount of fruit rot and infection by G. castanea at each phase.

Results

The warm bath (48 °C) was identified as the critical phase, requiring strict parametrization to effectively inactivate G. castanea in fruits. Laboratory tests indicated that maintaining fruits at 50 °C for a maximum of 45 min provided optimal cond

SUBMITTER: Morales-Rodriguez C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9290021 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature