Postharvest Hot-Water and Fungicide Treatments for Reduction of Decay of California Peaches, Plums, and Nectarines

Excerpts from the report: Postharvest rots of peaches and nectarines have been reduced with fungicidal dips and with fungicide-impregnated waxes or wraps. Hot-water treatments also have effectively reduced decay of eastern-grown varieties of peach and nectarine. Further work, summarized in this report, has been necessary to evaluate the performance of heat treatments under actual commercial conditions, and in combination with other fungicides. In addition, evaluations were needed of other methods of heat-treating fruit, such as moisture-saturated air or hot-flood showers. The performance of commercial heat treatments for peaches and nectarines also needed to be compared with fungicide-impregnated wax emulsions, which are used in some sheds.