Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is a serious disease of grape (Vitis vinifera) during storage. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of atmosphere cold plasma (a novel and nonthermal technology) on inactivation of B. cinerea and preservation of chemical, physical, and mechanical characteristics of grape inoculated with B. cinerea. Herein, different time of cold plasma (0, 10, 20, and 40 s) was firstly considered to be the main factors, besides different storage time (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 weeks) at 4°C. According to the results, plasma treatment exhibited inhibitory effect on gray mold percentage and microbial load of B. cinerea (log CFU g-1) during postharvest storage. So, in the last week, the gray mold percentage and microbial load in the control were 100% and 3.6 log CFU g-1, and in 40-s plasma were 4.5% and 2.53 log CFU g-1, respectively. Although the minimum infection and microbial load were observed in 40-s plasma, better postharvest quality preservation was observed in short-time cold plasma treatment (≤20 s). Forty-second plasma caused fruit tissue destruction and negatively decreased mechanical indices (Emod: 0.0028, Fmax = 1.78, and W = 3.18) and weight loss (91.9) in comparison with ≤20-s plasma, in which mechanical indices (Emod =0.0077, Fmax = 3.6, and W = 10.06) and weight loss (1/1) were higher. The long-time cold plasma treatment (40 s) had also maximum effects on color changes (10) and surface temperature (2.8°C). Although the highest TSS and TA were observed in 40-s Plasma, but different time of plasma treatments had no effect on pH. Altogether, these results indicate that the short-time cold plasma treatment can inactivate B. cinerea on grape berries and preserve crop quality properties.
Keywords: Botrytis cinerea; Vitis vinifera; cold plasma; postharvest quality.
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