Heat treatments combined with high CO2or N2atmospheres to kill chestnut fruit tortrix larvae

Abstract

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.