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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #322520
Title: Recent advances and current status of the use of heat treatments in postharvest disease management systems: Is it time to turn up the heat

Author
item SUI, YUAN - Hefei University Of Technology
item Wisniewski, Michael
item Norelli, John
item DROBY, SAMIR - Agricultural Research Organization Of Israel
item LIU, JIA - Hefei University Of Technology

Submitted to: Trends in Food Science and Technology
Publication Type: Literature Review
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/15/2016
Publication Date: 3/16/2016
Citation: Sui, Y., Wisniewski, M.E., Norelli, J.L., Droby, S., Liu, J. 2016. Recent advances and current status of the use of heat treatments in postharvest disease management systems: Is it time to turn up the heat. Trends in Food Science and Technology. 51:34-40.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Eco-friendly approaches to postharvest disease management in harvested commodities, such as heat treatments and biological control utilizing antagonistic yeasts, is an active research field. The current review focuses on the physiological and molecular aspects of heat treatment on all the major parts of the management systems, including the fruit commodity, the fungal pathogen, and the yeast biocontrol agent. The biochemical, molecular and “-omics” effects of postharvest heat treatments on the defense response of fruit are discussed. Heat treatments have direct inhibitory effects on fungal pathogens. The involvement of transcriptional regulation and oxidative injury is proposed. The preconditioning of biocontrol yeasts by subjecting them to mild heat stress in order to induce cross-protection to abiotic stresses and to enhance biocontrol efficacy is also reviewed. An integrated management approach has the potential to provide a viable alternative to synthetic fungicides. Combining heat treatments with biocontrol yeasts results in enhanced efficacy. This review presents a comprehensive overview of recent advances of the use of heat treatments in postharvest disease management systems (host fruit-fungal pathogen-biocontrol agent) and detailed analysis on each component. It provides guidance on further study and application of heat treatments as part of an eco-friendly, integrated approach to postharvest disease management.