Short-Term Exposure to High CO2 and O2 Atmospheres to Inhibit Postharvest Gray Mold of Pomegranate Fruit

The effect of short-term exposure to high CO2 or O-2 atmospheres, alone or in combination with heat (35 degrees C), for the control of postharvest gray mold was evaluated on 'Mollar de Elche' pomegranate fruit artificially inoculated with Botrytis cinerea and stored at 20 or 5 degrees C. Exposure to high CO2 for 48 hat 20 degrees C effectively reduced gray mold on pomegranate fruit incubated at 20 degrees C for 5 days in a concentration-based manner. Furthermore, gaseous treatments with partial pressures of 95 kPa CO2 or 30 kPa O-2 + 70 kPa CO2 for 48 h significantly reduced gray mold incidence and severity on fruit regardless of storage temperature. Moreover, for fruit receiving gaseous treatments at 20 degrees C then cold stored for 12 weeks, there were no apparent negative effects of the treatments on their quality (weight loss, skin color, maturity index, pH, and sensory quality). In general, compared with those applied at 20 degrees C, treatments at 35 degrees C did not improve gray mold inhibition and adversely affected some quality parameters. In conclusion, 48-h exposures to specific atmospheres at 20 degrees C may be a suitable treatment to extend pomegranate storage life and could be part of integrated control programs to control postharvest decay.