Effects of hot water and sodium bicarbonate treatments, singly or in combination, on cracking, residual procymidone contents, and quality of mature red cherry tomato fruit

SummaryMature red cherry tomato fruit (Lycopersicon esculentum var. cerasiforme) were treated with hot water (HWT) at 45°C, and/or with 2% (w/v) sodium bicarbonate solution (SBC), alone or in combination (HWT + SBC) for 10 min, then stored at 20°C for 6 d. HWT alone caused fruit cracking, while no cracking was observed on SBC-treated, or on HWT + SBC-treated fruit. Scanning electron microscopy showed that the combined SBC + HWT treatment made the fruit surface relatively homogeneous, compared with untreated control fruit or either treatment alone. The combined treatment also reduced the residual procymidone fungicide content of fruit, compared with the individual treatments. After storage, fruit from the combined treatment had higher skin firmness and titratable acidity, with a lower incidence and lesion diameter of grey mould rot caused by Botrytis cinerea, compared with untreated control fruit or either treatment alone. Our results suggest that HWT alone was not suitable for mature red cherry tomato fruit, while a combination of HWT plus SBC has potential as a commercial treatment to avoid fruit cracking, to improve safety, and to maintain fruit quality.