Special Issue "Alternatives to Chemicals in Fruits and Vegetables Production and Storage"
A special issue of Agronomy (ISSN 2073-4395). This special issue belongs to the section "Horticultural and Floricultural Crops".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2021.
Special Issue Editors
Interests: postharvest physiology; pathology; sensory and biochemistry issues; fruit; vegetables
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Interests: organic vegetables production and quality; postharvest physiology of vegetables; preharvest factors effect on qualiy (especially shadow nets and grafting)
Special Issues and Collections in MDPI journals
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
Fruits and vegetables have always been an important component of the human diet; similarly, losses in produce have always been a limitation for modern agriculture. Losses include any damage or change in the quantity or quality of produce from harvest to consumption. The magnitude of postharvest losses in fresh produce is estimated to be 5 to 25% in developed countries and 25 to 50% in developing countries. Attempts to control the loss caused by fungi and insects are generally carried out by the application of synthetic fungicides and pesticides before and/or after harvest. However, the growing health and safety concerns regarding the residues of synthetic fungicides and pesticides, due to their carcinogenic and toxicity to humans and potential contamination of the environment, have led to alternative, nonchemical approaches to preserve the quality of fresh produce during prolonged storage and marketing. In addition, the continued mass use of fungicides and excessive levels of chemical residues have resulted in the development and proliferation of fungal resistance. Due to these growing concerns, many countries have banned the application of synthetic chemicals to fresh produce after harvest.
This Special Issue aims to summarize original scientific papers, mini reviews or review articles dealing with the use of alternative treatments to synthetic chemicals, before and/or after harvest, in maintaining the overall quality of fresh produce during prolonged storage and marketing.
You may choose our Joint Special Issue in Horticulturae.
Prof. Dr. Elazar Fallik
Prof. Dr. Zoran Ilic
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All papers will be peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Agronomy is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- anoxia
- biocontrol
- fruits
- grafting
- GRAS (pre and postharvest application)
- modified and controlled atmosphere
- physical treatments
- preharvest
- postharvest
- vegetables
Planned Papers
The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.
Title: Hot water rinsing and brushing treatment for fresh produce as alternative to chemicals after harvest – the story behind the technology
Authors: Elazar Fallik, Sharon Alkalai-Tuvia and Daniel Chalupowicz
Affiliation: Agricultural Research Organization, the Volcani Institute, Department of Postharvest Science, Rishon LeZiy-yon, Israel 7505101
Abstract: Abstract: For many decades, heat treatments have been known to reduce or eliminate decay-causing agents, as well as physiological deterioration in fresh harvested fruits and vegetables. For years, fungicides and pesticides have been used to control fungi on fresh harvested fruits and veg-etables. However, these chemicals are hazardous to fresh produce’s consumers and can contami-nate the environment. Therefore, heat treatments, for minutes and up to several days have been developed to control these pathogenic fungi and insects on fresh produce after harvest. In the 1990s a hot water rinse brushing (HWRB) technology to clean and disinfect fresh produce, at rela-tive high temperatures (50 to 62°C) for seconds (12-20 s) was developed in Volcani Institute in Is-rael. This technology has been upgraded and improved during a decade, and is used commercial-ly on several crops in Israel and elsewhere. This communication is aimed to discuss the develop-ment of this prestorage technology, between 1996 to 2006, and to describe the use of HWRB on fruits and vegetables external and internal qualities and possible mode-of-action of this technology since 1996 until today.