Heat treatments combined with high CO₂ or N₂ atmospheres to kill chestnut fruit tortrix larvae

Postharvest losses are a major brake on the economic growth of the fruit sector and on the development of the production of certain fruit species in organic farming.
Chestnut (Castanea sativa Miller) is a very sensitive commodity with high losses due to insect infestation and diseases.
In 2014, the first trials were carried out to evaluate the efficacy of postharvest heat treatments combined with high CO₂ or N₂ atmospheres to kill insects.
Different treatments of 40 min at 45°C and 100% CO₂ or 100% N₂ were applied on chestnut fruit tortrix larvae (Cydia splendana) and proved to be completely effective on larvae mortality.
A higher temperature (50°C) with a 40% CO₂ concentration gave similar results.
These preliminary results must be validated in vivo to confirm the potential of this technique for killing chestnut fruit tortrix.

International Symposium on Innovation in Integrated and Organic Horticulture (INNOHORT)

S. Lurol, C. Belaen, P. Landry, F. Verpont, B. Hennion

Castanea sativa, insect disinfestation, controlled atmosphere, fruit losses, physical treatments, postharvest

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1137.36