Effects of UV-C Treatment on Green Mold Rot (Penicillium digitatum) and Physico- Chemical Properties of Post-Harvest Strawberry Using UV-C Conveyer Machine

We investigated the effects of Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) treatment on inactivation of green mold rot (Penicillium digitatum) and physico-chemical properties of strawberry fruit. Although, there was no significant difference (P=0.05) in weight loss for all samples after immediately UV-C treatment, however, the loss dramatically increased during storage (P<0.05). During storage, inoculated strawberry treated with UV-C (1 and 6 min) showed the better inactivation effect as evidenced by lower decay and number of microorganism than control sample; however, UV-C treatment for 6 min caused quality damage. This result agreed with browning calyx shriveling and drying of the strawberry simultaneously with firmness decreasing. Thus, the low UV-C treatment (1 min) was recommended to use as a postharvest mild treatment.