ABSTRACT
Table grapes, kiwifruit, and strawberries are highly susceptible to postharvest decay caused by a range of pathogenic fungi. They are generally stored for short (strawberries, up to 1 wk), medium (table grapes, a few weeks to 2 mon), or long (kiwifruit, up to 6–9 mon) periods, and during their storage and shelf life, they are susceptible to several postharvest diseases. Gray mold, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is usually the most important of these. Gray mold control requires specific fungicide treatments applied at different times before harvest in the field to inhibit infections and reduce inoculum. Their timing depends on the species and cultivar, although in all cases, it is important to target latent infections, as these are often established early in the growing season and then frequently expressed after harvest, during storage, and especially during the shelf-life period. Control of other diseases rarely requires specific fungicide applications in the field. Therefore, it is important to manage these pathogens after harvest. For table grapes, sulfur dioxide fumigation or in-package generators control postharvest gray mold, while for kiwifruit and strawberries, preharvest canopy management is essential. Moreover, for kiwifruit, postharvest curing practices are effective. For these crops, gray mold control is based on pre- and postharvest practices. Other strategies (e.g., low temperature, modified atmosphere, and ozone) can be applied to manage postharvest diseases of fruit that are susceptible to these pathogens.
