Effects of UV-C and salicylic acid on quality of Muskule table grapes during cold storage

Abstract: Muskule grape variety which has table and late maturing attributes, was used for this study. Storage of table grapes requires stringent control of gray mold, which is caused by Botrytis cinerea Pers. In spite of the fact that the use of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) in controlling gray mould is common practice, it has some advantages and disadvantages. Thus, physical, natural organic elicitors and biological methods have been used for delaying decays. In this study, UV-C (0.25kJ m^-2), salicylic acid (1, 2, 3mM) and Na₂S₂O₅ (0.4g powdered sodium metabisulfate pads) treatments were used to reduce quality losses during the cold storage of Muskule grape. Treated clusters were placed into polyethylene container and packaged with polyethylene bags having 10.5 a thicknesses and stored at 0?1 ^oC and 90?5% relative humidity throughout 100 day. At the end of 100 day, weight loss (%), soluble solids content (%), titratable acidity (g 100 mL^-1), pH of fruit juice, sensory evaluation, view of cluster skeleton and decay rate (%) were determined at 20 days interval. SA (3mM) + UV-C combined treatment and SA (3mM) treatment were found to be effective depending on examined criterion.