Nitric oxide as a new fumigant for postharvest pest control

Vortrag

Abstract

Nitric oxide (NO) is a new fumigant for postharvest pest control. It is effective against all pests tested to date, including external and internal pests of fresh and stored product insects, and mites. Efficacious treatment time ranges from 2 h to 72 h, and NO concentrations range from 0.1% to 5%, depending on species and life stages of the pests.
Nitric oxide fumigation must be conducted under ultralow oxygen conditions because NO reacts with O₂ spontaneously to produce nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), which is toxic to perishable fresh products. Fresh product fumigation must, therefore, also be terminated by flushing with N₂ to dilute NO at the end of fumigation to avoid damage to delicate products by NO₂. Nitric oxide fumigation was safe in small-scale tests to postharvest quality of all fresh commodities when terminated with N₂ flush. In addition, NO fumigation resulted in better postharvest quality of strawberries and apples as compared with controls, indicating its beneficial effects on postharvest quality of fresh products.
Twenty fresh fruit and vegetables and 10 stored products were fumigated with NO to determine residue levels of nitrate and nitrite. When terminated properly with N₂ flush, NO fumigation does not increase nitrate or nitrite levels in fumigated products. NO fumigation was demonstrated to be effective against all pests, safe to fresh products, and has no toxic residues and, therefore, has the potential to be a practical alternative to methyl bromide fumigation for postharvest pest control on both fresh and stored products.