Abstract
Tomatoes are among the most important horticultural crops; however, it is estimated that 30% of tomato yield is lost due to postharvest rot due to Rhizopus stolonifer, a fungus which requires lesions to initiate the infectious process. Tomato fruit cracking is a physiopathy which causes significant economic losses, since cracking is the door used by the fungus. In this experiment, 14 cultivars of tomato of different types were used. Fruit sampling was carried out in the middle of the crop cycle, coinciding with the peak of yield; then, the fruits were divided into two groups: one group was inoculated with Rhizopus in order to assess the effectiveness of washing, whilst the other was treated with sterile water. The fruits of each group were divided into lots to be treated with six washing treatments: dipping in hot water at 20, 40 and 60 °C for 20 s; the fruits were then sprayed with the following solutions: 0.6% of Hydrogen Peroxide 23% + Peracetic acid 15%; commercial bleach at 0.5% and 2% of Hydrogen Peroxide 50%. The control sample was not washed. The results show that there was an influence of cultivar on fruit cracking, which was strongly related with Rhizopus infection. Three cultivars were not susceptible to cracking, and therefore, were not sensitive to Rhizopus infection. The effectiveness of different washing treatments of tomato fruits depends on several factors; nonetheless, hot water treatment has been shown to be more effective than the use of chemical products such as commercial bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Another factor, the susceptibility of cultivars to cracking, determines the effectiveness of the washing treatment. The results provide an important basis for making decisions about the washing management of tomato fruits in packaging houses.
Highlights
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most consumed vegetables, and is the second most important horticultural crop worldwide
In relation with washing treatments globally, the results indicated that washing fruits with hot water at 60 or 40 ◦ C was more effective than chemical treatments, probably due to greater capacity of thermal treatments to deepen into the fruit, in contrast to chemical treatments which are contact treatments [13]
The effectiveness of different washing treatments of tomato fruits depends on several factors, one being the treatment itself; hot water treatment has been shown to be more effective than chemical products such as commercial bleach or hydrogen peroxide at the concentrations assayed, this is nuanced, mainly due to the cultivar, since the SV ARS and TR cultivars did not show any infection, and it would not be more necessary than conventional washing with water to eliminate traces of dust
Summary
Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is one of the most consumed vegetables, and is the second most important horticultural crop worldwide. The economic and social importance of this crop is reflected in the fact that, worldwide, in 2017, there was a harvested area of 4.8 million hectares and a production of about 183 million tons [1]. It is estimated that more than two million tons of tomatoes for fresh consumption were produced in Spain in 2017 [2], where the province of Almería was the most. Res. Public Health 2019, 16, 2754; doi:10.3390/ijerph16152754 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph
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