Evaluation of different salt-amended electrolysed water to control postharvest moulds of citrus

Abstract

The effect of different salt solutions added to electrolysed water (EW) was assessed as sanitising agents against Penicillium digitatum, P. italicum and P. ulaiense. Different settings of electrolysing machine were optimised to improve sanitation. The acidic and alkaline EW combined with thirteen salt solutions were used to treat spore suspension and the count of colony forming units recovered on potato-dextrose agar media was estimated. In addition, the same treatments were applied to spore suspension before inoculating orange fruits, which were incubated at favourable conditions for disease development. Results showed that acidic EW was more effective than alkaline EW in inhibiting growth and disease development of citrus mould pathogens, likely due to a synergetic effect. The EW amended with salt solution showed improved sanitary effect and enhanced disease suppression caused by EW. This showed to be an environmental friendly option to reduce the residue of sanitising agents and fungicide use in conventional processing of citrus fresh fruits.