Evaluation of the use of microwave power for the control of postharvest diseases of peaches

We evaluated the possible use of microwave power to control postharvest pathogens of peach fruit. In fruit inoculated with Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum and treated with microwaves for 2 min, lesion diameters and percentage of infected wounds were significantly (P less than or equal to 0.05) lower than in the control fruit. Postharvest storage experiments also showed that the use of microwave power as a prestorage treatment was very effective in controlling natural infection. The microwave treatment neither caused surface damage to fruits nor impaired quality parameters of fruit. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.