Articles
DISINFESTATION OF SUBTROPICAL COMMODITIES WITH HOT FORCED AIR
Article number
343_89
Pages
367 – 370
Language
Abstract
Fruits from regions that contain restricted insects must be disinfested before being marketed in fly-free areas.
Prior use of heat for disinfestation has had limited success due to inefficient heat conduction through the commodity.
Successful commercial use of hot forced air as a disinfestation treatment requires maximum heat conduction through a commodity without impairment of market quality.
The objectives of this research were to identify the maximum temperature and duration that Dancy tangerine can be subjected to hot forced air without impairment of market quality, and to identify and modify factors which influence the rate of heat conduction through a commodity.
Market quality of Dancy tangerine was impaired by exposure to air temperatures above 45C for longer than 1 hr, but no deleterious affect on quality was observed after 4 hr at 45C. The phytotoxic response of Dancy tangerine to air treatment temperatures above 45C included darkening of flavedo tissue and off-flavor development.
Heat treated Dancy tangerine had less respiratory substrates than control fruit.
The rate of heat conduction through a commodity is influenced by the magnitude of the temperature differential between the surface and the core of the commodity.
Increasing the temperature or relative humidity of the forced air during treatment increased the rate of heat conduction through the commodity.
Commodity specific attributes affected the rate of heat conduction.
Prior use of heat for disinfestation has had limited success due to inefficient heat conduction through the commodity.
Successful commercial use of hot forced air as a disinfestation treatment requires maximum heat conduction through a commodity without impairment of market quality.
The objectives of this research were to identify the maximum temperature and duration that Dancy tangerine can be subjected to hot forced air without impairment of market quality, and to identify and modify factors which influence the rate of heat conduction through a commodity.
Market quality of Dancy tangerine was impaired by exposure to air temperatures above 45C for longer than 1 hr, but no deleterious affect on quality was observed after 4 hr at 45C. The phytotoxic response of Dancy tangerine to air treatment temperatures above 45C included darkening of flavedo tissue and off-flavor development.
Heat treated Dancy tangerine had less respiratory substrates than control fruit.
The rate of heat conduction through a commodity is influenced by the magnitude of the temperature differential between the surface and the core of the commodity.
Increasing the temperature or relative humidity of the forced air during treatment increased the rate of heat conduction through the commodity.
Commodity specific attributes affected the rate of heat conduction.
Publication
Authors
K.C. Shellie, R.L. Mangan
Keywords
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