Improvement of quality and shelf-life in strawberries by Pichia guilliermondii and hot air treatment

Strawberry is an important cash crop, but postharvest diseases would cause varying degrees of loss. Although hot air (45 degrees C, 3 h) and antagonistic yeast (Pichia guilliermondii) treatments are effective in reducing pathogen attack, little is known about the relationship between postharvest disease and combination treatment methods in strawberry fruit. In our study, strawberries treated with P. guilliermondii in combination with hot air were tested for grey mould, soft rot and anthracnose. It is shown that the combination treatment was more efficacious than either P. guilliermondii or hot air applied individually in (i) controlling grey mould, soft rot and anthracnose (ii). maintaining the quality of strawberries (including weight loss, firmness and high SSC/TA without excessive reduction of AA content) and (iii) increasing the antioxidant levels (as indicated by higher activities of SOD, CAT, POD, the content of TPC and OPC). Therefore, these findings provide foundational data to help elucidate the mechanisms by that combination treatment can enhance the shelf life of strawberries during storage.