Correction to: Wood-water relationships and their role for wood susceptibility to fungal decay

A Correction to this paper has been published: 10.1007/s00253-020-10479-1

Vpliv podnebnih sprememb na dinamiko glivnega razkroja lesa v Sloveniji

The intensity of fungal decay depends mainly on wood species, temperature and precipitation events. To estimate the planned service life of wood and to determine the maintenance intervals of wooden buildings, it is necessary to assess how wood behaves in a given environment. There are a variety of models that have been developed to assess the loading of wood. The approach most commonly used in practice is that developed by Theodore Scheffer. Scheffer proposed a climate index (Scheffer climate index) based on the number of rainy days and monthly average temperatures. Based on these data, Scheffer climate index for chosen locations in Slovenia was calculated. The results of the analysis of climatic conditions show that the Schef%fer climate index is higher than it was decades ago at most of the analysed sites in Slovenia. The intensity of decomposition increased at all analysed locations, with the exception of Portorož. The largest increase in the Scheffer climate index was ob%served in Rateče.

Salicylic acid and oxalic acid in enhancing the quality and extending the shelf life of grape cv. Thompson seedless

Postharvest life of table grapes is usually shortened by berry softening, berry drop, stem browning, fungal decay. Salicylic acid reduces fruit respiration and ethylene biosynthesis, during storage of fruits. Similarly, application of oxalic acid is a secure and hopeful postharvest handling technology for keeping quality and prolonging storage life of fruit. To study the effect of Salicylic acid and oxalic acid in enhancing the quality and extending the shelf life of grape, the present investigation was conducted. The grape berries were treated with Oxalic acid (OA) (1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mM) and Salicylic acid (SA) (0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 mM). The treatments were compared within 16th days at an interval of 4 days. Among the treatments, SA (2 mM) showed superiority in different quality attributing characters like physiological loss in weight (PLW), berry firmness, rachis browning, berry appearance, fungal decay, berry shattering, TSS, ascorbic acid, titratable acidity, total sugars, reducing sugars, TSS: acid ratio, taste, overall acceptability and shelf life. Hence, SA (2 mM) can be used as an effective strategy for maintaining quality of table grapes.

Wood modification with N-methylol and N-methyl compounds: a case study on how non-fixated chemicals in modified wood may affect the classification of their durability

Chemical modification is increasing the durability of wood against biological deterioration. Usually, the effect of a new treatment on the durability of wood is screened in laboratory decay tests, where durability classes are assigned on the basis of the mass loss (ML) caused by degrading fungi. The aim of this study was to demonstrate how non-fixated chemicals in modified wood may affect fungal ML measurements and corresponding durability classification when wood samples are incubated under humid conditions for long periods. Wood blocks were treated with solutions of 1,3-dimethylol-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMDHEU), methylated DMDHEU (mDMDHEU) and 1,3-dimethyl-4,5-dihydroxyethyleneurea (DMeDHEU) and subjected to consecutive cold-water leaching cycles. Significant amounts of non-fixated chemicals were removed from the wood by three leaching cycles and might lead to ML mistaken as response of fungal decay. Consequently, the treated material was assigned erroneously by up to four durability classes (DC) worse than material which did not include leachable, non-fixated chemicals. Thus, for a reliable durability classification of chemically modified wood, prolonged leaching procedures are recommended to assure that the measured ML is entirely attributed to fungal decay.

Characterization and Quantification of Postharvest Losses of Apple Fruit Stored under Commercial Conditions

The objectives of this study were to characterize and quantify postharvest losses of apples under commercial conditions in Santa Catarina state, Brazil. Two experiments were conducted using ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’ apples. The first experiment was to characterize and quantify the most important causes of loss of fruit treated or not treated with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP) then held in controlled atmosphere (CA) storage. This experiment was conducted in commercial storage facilities from 2007 to 2010. In each year, 10 samples of ≈380 kg each for ‘Gala’ and 400 kg each for ‘Fuji’ were collected from bins of commercially harvested fruit from each of 15 ‘Gala’ and 17 ‘Fuji’ orchards. Half of the samples from each orchard were treated with 1-MCP at harvest. Fruit were stored in CA, at 0.7 °C, for 150 to 300 days. After storage, one subsample of 100 disorder-free apples were selected from each sample and held at 22 °C for 7 days to simulate shelf-life conditions. The fruit were analyzed after CA storage and shelf life for the incidence of disorders. The second experiment was conducted in 2011 to identify the main fungi causing decay during storage. In this study, apples were stored in 10 commercial CA storage rooms at 0.7 °C for 180 to 240 days. After storage, fruit with decay symptoms were collected at the commercial sorting line. A total of 10 samples of 100 decayed apples were taken throughout the sorting period for each cultivar and storage room. The fungal decays were identified by visual symptoms on each fruit. Total apple losses during storage varied from 3.9% to 12.1% for ‘Gala’ and 6.6% to 8.4% for ‘Fuji’, depending on the year and 1-MCP treatment. During storage, deterioration caused by fungal decay was ≈60% and 80% of total losses for ‘Gala’ and ‘Fuji’, respectively. During shelf life, additional losses caused by fungal decay ranged from 8.4% to 17.6% for ‘Gala’ and 12.4% to 27.2% for ‘Fuji’, depending on the year. Senescent breakdown and superficial scald were the major physiological disorders. 1-MCP treatment had no effect on losses due to decay. Bull’s-eye rot, blue mold, gray mold, and alternaria rot were the most prevalent fungal decay symptoms, accounting for 52%, 27%, 9% and 10% of ‘Gala’ losses and 42%, 25%, 18% and 5% of ‘Fuji’ losses, respectively. Sources of variability for losses among years and orchards is discussed.

Antifungal Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose (HPMC)-Lipid Composite Edible Coatings and Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) to Reduce Postharvest Decay and Improve Storability of ‘Mollar De Elche’ Pomegranates

Pomegranate exhibits important postharvest quality losses that limit its storage potential, caused mainly by weight loss, chilling injury and fungal diseases. In this work, we evaluated the effect of novel hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) edible coatings (ECs) formulated with three different lipids (beeswax (BW), carnauba wax, and glycerol monostearate), as hydrophobic components, and two different GRAS salts (potassium bicarbonate (PBC) and sodium benzoate (SB)), as antifungal ingredients, to control weight loss and natural fungal decay of ‘Mollar de Elche’ pomegranates during storage at 20 °C. Afterwards, selected antifungal ECs and commercial modified atmosphere packaging (MAP) films were assayed alone or in combination to control natural decay and preserve fruit quality of pomegranates stored at 5 °C for 4 months plus 1 week at 20 °C. Results showed that ECs amended with SB reduced pomegranate latent infections caused by Botrytis cinerea and wound diseases caused by Penicillium spp. Moreover, MAP technologies were confirmed as an efficient mean to preserve freshness, prevent fruit shriveling and rind browning, and reduce fungal decay, thus extending storage life of pomegranates. The combination HPMC-BW-SB + MAP was the most promising treatment as it reduced weight loss and decay, without negatively affecting the fruit physicochemical and sensory quality.