Effect of post-harvest treatment with BTH on fruit decay, microbial populations, and the maintenance of quality in strawberry

Strawberry fruit are susceptible to microbial decay during post-harvest storage. To search for an effective alternative to currently-used fungicides for disease control, we investigated the effect of benzo-(1, 2, 3)-thiadiazole-7-carbothioic acid S-methyl ester (BTH) on fruit decay and the maintenance of quality in strawberries after harvest. Freshly harvested strawberry fruit were treated with 0 (control), 0.05, 0.20 or 0.50 g l(-1) BTH for 5 min. BTH treatment at 0.20 g l(-1) was most effective at inhibiting fruit decay in strawberry fruit during storage at 5 degrees C, while quality parameters such as total soluble solids contents and titratable acidity were also maintained. Fruit treated with 0.20 g l(-1) BTH exhibited reduced microbial populations and higher activities of chitinase and beta-1,3-glucanase. However, treatment with 0.50 g l(-1) BTH was ineffective at controlling fruit decay. Our results show that a post-harvest application of an appropriate concentration of BTH treatment was effective in reducing fruit decay and enhanced disease resistance in strawberry fruit. The data obtained suggest that BTH may provide an alternative to control post-harvest decay in strawberry fruit.