Pre‐storage hypobaric treatment reduces microbial spoilage and maintains eating quality of strawberry fruits during low temperature conditions

Strawberry fruits are highly perishable and susceptible to microbial decay. In this study, influence of atmospheric pressure, postharvest delay in hypobaric treatment, and combined effect of pressure and exposure duration on storage quality of strawberries were evaluated. Treatment at 40 kPa for 4 h without postharvest delay inhibited fungal decay and retained visual quality which contributed to 13% increase in marketable life of strawberries compared with control. Further study revealed that microbial control and storage quality of strawberries treated either at 20 kPa for 2 h or 40 kPa for 4 h were statistically comparable. After 12 days, strawberries treated at 20 kPa for 2 h had 14.3% higher radical scavenging activity, 13.9% higher phenolic contents and 17.7% higher ascorbic acid than control fruits. Thus, pre-storage treatment at 20 kPa for 2 h without postharvest delay effectively retained fruit quality and extended storage life of strawberries for 6 more days compared with control. Novelty impact statement Hypobaric treatment is a potential non-chemical technique used to disinfect and extend storage life of strawberries. Results showed that hypobaric treatment at 20 kPa for 2 h without any postharvest delay can be adopted to disinfect strawberries from microbial infection and to extend marketable life. These findings may help in developing commercial hypobaric technology for perishable and decay-susceptible fruits and vegetables.