Impact of UV-C Radiation Applied during Plant Growth on Pre- and Postharvest Disease Sensitivity and Fruit Quality of Strawberry

Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation is efficient in reducing the development of diseases in many species, including strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa). Several studies suggest that UV-C radiation is effective not only because of its disinfecting effect but also because it may stimulate plant defenses. In this study, the effect of preharvest UV-C radiation applied during strawberry cultivation on plant growth, fruit quality, and susceptibility to major fungal diseases such as gray mold, powdery mildew, and soft rot was evaluated. UV-C treatments had an impact on flowering initiation and fruit development. Flowering occurred earlier for UV-C-treated plants than for nontreated plants. At harvest, a larger amount of fruit was produced by treated plants despite their slight decrease in leaf area. UV-C treatment did not improve strawberry shelf life but did not alter the physical integrity of strawberry fruit. Natural infection of leaves to powdery mildew and of fruit to Rhizopus spp. strongly decreased in response to UV-C treatment.

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Application of Ultraviolet-C Light on Storage Rots and Ripening of Tomatoes

Journal of Food Protection ◽

10.4315/0362-028x-56.10.868 ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 56 (10) ◽

pp. 868-873 ◽

Cited By ~ 101

Author(s):

J. LIU ◽

C. STEVENS ◽

V. A. KHAN ◽

J. Y. LU ◽

C. L. WILSON ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

Soft Rot ◽

Gray Mold ◽

Rhizopus Stolonifer ◽

Storage Rots ◽

Black Mold ◽

Ultraviolet C ◽

Induce Resistance ◽

Uv C ◽

Positive Effect

The application of ultraviolet light (UV-C, 254 nm) hormesis on fruits and vegetables to stimulate beneficial responses is a new method for controlling storage rots and extending the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables. The present study was aimed at treating tomatoes (Lycopersicon esculentum) with different UV-C dosages (1.3 to 40 KJ/m2) to induce resistance to black mold (Alternaria alternata), gray mold (Botrytis cinerea), and Rhizopus soft rot (Rhizopus stolonifer). These diseases were effectively reduced when tomatoes were inoculated following UV-C irradiation. UV-C treated tomatoes were firmer in texture and less red in color than the control tomatoes, indicating a delay in ripening. Slower ripening and resistance to storage rots of tomatoes are probably related. The positive effect of UV-C on tomatoes decreased as treatments were performed at stages of increased ripeness.

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APPLICATION OF UV-C AND BIO-CONTROL AGENT STRATEGIES TO CONTROL ROT OF FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.30.3.437f ◽

1995 ◽

Vol 30 (3) ◽

pp. 437f-437

Author(s):

C. Stevens ◽

V.A. Khan ◽

J.Y. Lu ◽

C.L. Wilson ◽

P.L. Pusey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Biocontrol Agent ◽

Debaryomyces Hansenii ◽

Brown Rot ◽

Soft Rot ◽

Control Agent ◽

Postharvest Disease ◽

Green Mold ◽

Storage Rots ◽

Uv C ◽

Better Than

Applying low doses of ultraviolet light (254 nm, W-C) reduces the incidence of brown rot of (Monilinia fructicola) peaches, green mold (Penicillium digitatum) of tangerines, and Rhizopus soft rot (Rhizopus stolonifer) of tomatoes and sweetpotatoes resulting from field infection and artificial inoculation. In most studies, applying postharvest fungicide (PF) was better than W-C treatment. In this study, the effectiveness of combining a biocontrol agent, Debaryomyces hansenii (BC), with low UV-C dose for postharvest disease control was investigated. When these commodities were treated with BC 3 days after W-C treatment, the reduction of storage rots was more effective than when UV-C was used alone. For example, the percent brown rot infection of artificially inoculated Elberta peaches 36 hours after inoculation of the nontreated control, peaches treated with UV-C, BC, W-C + BC, and benlate were 100%, 55%, 67%, 12%, and 12%, respectively. The efficacy of W-C + BC was similar to when PF was used alone, indicating that an integration of UV-C treatment and BC can reduce storage rot to the levels of commercial PF treatment.

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THE EFFECT OF ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT-C ON STORAGE ROTS AND RIPENING OF TOMATOES

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.28.4.275e ◽

1993 ◽

Vol 28 (4) ◽

pp. 275E-275

Author(s):

J. Liu ◽

C. Stevens ◽

V.A. Khan ◽

J.Y. Lu ◽

C.L. Wilson ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Ultraviolet Light ◽

Fruits And Vegetables ◽

Low Dose ◽

Soft Rot ◽

Gray Mold ◽

Storage Rots ◽

Black Mold ◽

Induce Resistance ◽

Uv C ◽

Positive Effect

The application of low hormetic low-dose ultraviolet light (WV-C, 254 nm) on fruits and vegetables to stimulate beneficial responses is a new method for controlling storage rots and extending the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables. The present study was aimed at treating tomatoes (lycopersicon esculentum) with different UV-C dosages (1.3 to 40 KJ/m2) to induce resistance to black mold (Alternaria alternata), gray mold (Boytris cinerea), and Rhizopus soft rot (Rhizopus stolonifer). Thesediseases were effectively reduced when tomatoes were artificially inoculated following UV-C irradiation UV-C treated tomatoes were firmer in texture and less red in color than the control tomatoes, indicating a delay in ripening. Slower ripening and resistsace to storage rots of tomatoes are probably related. The positive effect of UVC on tomatoes decreased as treatments were performed at stages of increased ripeness.

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(163) Organic and Biorational Fungicides for Managing Gray Mold on Raspberries

HortScience ◽

10.21273/hortsci.41.4.1033a ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 41 (4) ◽

pp. 1033A-1033

Author(s):

Graham Sanders ◽

Elsa Sanchez ◽

Kathleen Demchak

Keyword(s):

Soft Rot ◽

Gray Mold ◽

Rubus Idaeus ◽

Postharvest Disease ◽

Disease Development ◽

Blue Mold ◽

Marketable Yield ◽

Weekly Basis ◽

Development Data ◽

Spray Control

The increased demand for organic and sustainably grown produce has resulted in a demand for information on organic and biorational fungicides. The efficacy of these fungicides is often not established, yet they are aggressively advertised. In 2005 the efficacy of six organic and biorational fungicides and two controls were evaluated on field-grown red raspberries (Rubus idaeus `Prelude' and `Nova') for gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) management. Phytotoxicity of the fungicide treatments was evaluated on a weekly basis following each fungicide application. Fruit was harvested by hand, sorted into marketable and unmarketable categories and weighed. Subsamples of fruit were evaluated for postharvest disease development. Data analysis showed `Nova' was more susceptible to phytotoxicity than `Prelude'. The application of Phostrol resulted in the highest phytotoxicity rating when compared to all other fungicide treatments. The water spray control, standard fungicide (Captan/Elevate rotation) control, Endorse, and Lime Sulfur treatments resulted in negligible phytotoxity ratings. Applying Milstop, Milstop + Oxidate, and Oxidate + Vigor Cal Phos resulted in similar intermediate phytotoxicity ratings. Differences in marketable yield were nonexistent for the two cultivars and eight fungicide treatments. The predominant diseases observed in the postharvest evaluations were gray mold, blue mold (Penicillium sp.), and rhizopus soft rot (Rhizopus sp.) and/or mucor mold (Mucor sp.). This evaluation will be repeated in 2006.

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Preharvest Chitosan and Postharvest UV Irradiation Treatments Suppress Gray Mold of Table Grapes

Plant Disease ◽

10.1094/pd-90-0445 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 90 (4) ◽

pp. 445-450 ◽

Cited By ~ 81

Author(s):

G. Romanazzi ◽

F. Mlikota Gabler ◽

J. L. Smilanick

Keyword(s):

Chitinase Activity ◽

Gray Mold ◽

Grape Berry ◽

Thompson Seedless ◽

Berry Skin ◽

Grape Berries ◽

Table Grapes ◽

Ultraviolet C ◽

Berry Skins ◽

Uv C

The effectiveness of chitosan treatment of table grapes, alone or in combination with ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation, to control postharvest gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea, was determined in California, United States. The influence of these treatments on catechin and resveratrol contents and chitinase activity in grape berry skins also was assessed. Clusters of cvs. Thompson Seedless, Autumn Black, and Emperor were sprayed in the vineyard with 1% chitosan, then harvested daily for 5 days. Promptly after harvest, they were inoculated with B. cinerea. Decay incidence and disease severity were significantly reduced by chitosan, which was most effective on berries harvested 1 or 2 days after treatment. In another experiment, grape berries were sprayed in the vineyard with chitosan, harvested 2 days later, irradiated for 5 min with UV-C (0.36 J/cm2), and inoculated with B. cinerea 2 days later. Combined chitosan and UV-C treatments applied to cv. Autumn Black or selection B36-55 were synergistic in reducing gray mold incidence and severity compared with either treatment alone. Preharvest chitosan treatment increased neither concentration of catechin or resveratrol nor activity of chitinase in berry skin. Conversely, UV-C irradiation, alone or combined with chitosan treatment, induced catechin in cv. Autumn Black berries and trans-resveratrol in both cv. Autumn Black and selection B36-55.

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Effectiveness of Ultraviolet-C Room Disinfection on Preventing Healthcare-Associated Clostridioides difficile Infection

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2020.512 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s33-s33

Author(s):

Michihiko Goto ◽

Erin Balkenende ◽

Gosia Clore ◽

Rajeshwari Nair ◽

Loretta Simbartl ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Care ◽

Acute Care Hospitals ◽

Incidence Rates ◽

Positive Test ◽

Negative Binomial Regression Model ◽

Test Results ◽

Clostridioides Difficile ◽

Ultraviolet C ◽

Healthcare Associated ◽

Uv C

Background: Enhanced terminal room cleaning with ultraviolet C (UVC) disinfection has become more commonly used as a strategy to reduce the transmission of important nosocomial pathogens, including Clostridioides difficile, but the real-world effectiveness remains unclear. Objectives: We aimed to assess the association of UVC disinfection during terminal cleaning with the incidence of healthcare-associated C. difficile infection and positive test results for C. difficile within the nationwide Veterans Health Administration (VHA) System. Methods: Using a nationwide survey of VHA system acute-care hospitals, information on UV-C system utilization and date of implementation was obtained. Hospital-level incidence rates of clinically confirmed hospital-onset C. difficile infection (HO-CDI) and positive test results with recent healthcare exposures (both hospital-onset [HO-LabID] and community-onset healthcare-associated [CO-HA-LabID]) at acute-care units between January 2010 and December 2018 were obtained through routine surveillance with bed days of care (BDOC) as the denominator. We analyzed the association of UVC disinfection with incidence rates of HO-CDI, HO-Lab-ID, and CO-HA-LabID using a nonrandomized, stepped-wedge design, using negative binomial regression model with hospital-specific random intercept, the presence or absence of UVC disinfection use for each month, with baseline trend and seasonality as explanatory variables. Results: Among 143 VHA acute-care hospitals, 129 hospitals (90.2%) responded to the survey and were included in the analysis. UVC use was reported from 42 hospitals with various implementation start dates (range, June 2010 through June 2017). We identified 23,021 positive C. difficile test results (HO-Lab ID: 5,014) with 16,213 HO-CDI and 24,083,252 BDOC from the 129 hospitals during the study period. There were declining baseline trends nationwide (mean, −0.6% per month) for HO-CDI. The use of UV-C had no statistically significant association with incidence rates of HO-CDI (incidence rate ratio [IRR], 1.032; 95% CI, 0.963–1.106; P = .65) or incidence rates of healthcare-associated positive C. difficile test results (HO-Lab). Conclusions: In this large quasi-experimental analysis within the VHA System, the enhanced terminal room cleaning with UVC disinfection was not associated with the change in incidence rates of clinically confirmed hospital-onset CDI or positive test results with recent healthcare exposure. Further research is needed to understand reasons for lack of effectiveness, such as understanding barriers to utilization.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

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Ultraviolet-C as a Viable Reprocessing Method for Disposable Masks and Filtering Facepiece Respirators

Polymers ◽

10.3390/polym13050801 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 13 (5) ◽

pp. 801

Author(s):

Talita Nicolau ◽

Núbio Gomes Filho ◽

Andrea Zille

Keyword(s):

Literature Review ◽

Systematic Literature Review ◽

Personal Protective Equipment ◽

State Of The Art ◽

Protective Equipment ◽

Multiple Methods ◽

Ultraviolet C ◽

Single Use ◽

Uv C ◽

New Strategies

In normal conditions, discarding single-use personal protective equipment after use is the rule for its users due to the possibility of being infected, particularly for masks and filtering facepiece respirators. When the demand for these protective tools is not satisfied by the companies supplying them, a scenario of shortages occurs, and new strategies must arise. One possible approach regards the disinfection of these pieces of equipment, but there are multiple methods. Analyzing these methods, Ultraviolet-C (UV-C) becomes an exciting option, given its germicidal capability. This paper aims to describe the state-of-the-art for UV-C sterilization in masks and filtering facepiece respirators. To achieve this goal, we adopted a systematic literature review in multiple databases added to a snowball method to make our sample as robust as possible and encompass a more significant number of studies. We found that UV-C’s germicidal capability is just as good as other sterilization methods. Combining this characteristic with other advantages makes UV-C sterilization desirable compared to other methods, despite its possible disadvantages.

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Inactivation of Candida auris and Candida albicans by Ultraviolet-C

Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology ◽

10.1017/ice.2020.868 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. s292-s292

Author(s):

William Rutala ◽

Hajime Kanamori ◽

Maria Gergen ◽

Emily Sickbert-Bennett ◽

David Jay Weber

Keyword(s):

Infection Prevention ◽

Antifungal Drugs ◽

Candida Auris ◽

Healthcare Facilities ◽

Environmental Surfaces ◽

Route Of Transmission ◽

Indirect Exposure ◽

Ultraviolet C ◽

Severe Infections ◽

Uv C

Background:Candida auris is an emerging fungal pathogen that is often resistant to major classes of antifungal drugs. It is considered a serious global health threat because it has caused severe infections with frequent mortality in over a dozen countries. C. auris can survive on healthcare environmental surfaces for at least 7 days, and it causes outbreaks in healthcare facilities. C. auris has an environmental route of transmission. Thus, infection prevention strategies, such as surface disinfection and room decontamination technologies (eg, ultraviolet [UV-C] light), will be essential to controlling transmission. Unfortunately, data are limited regarding the activity of UV-C to inactivate this pathogen. In this study, a UV-C device was evaluated for its antimicrobial activity against C. auris and C. albicans. Methods: We tested the antifungal activity of a single UV-C device using the vegetative bacteria cycle, which delivers a reflected dose of 12,000 µW/cm2. This testing was performed using Formica sheets (7.6 × 7.6 cm; 3 × 3 inches). The carriers were inoculated with C. auris or C. albicans and placed horizontal on the surface or vertical (ie, perpendicular) to the vertical UV-C lamp and at a distance from 1. 2 m (~4 ft) to 2.4 m (~8 ft). Results: Direct UV-C, with or without FCS (log10 reduction 4.57 and 4.45, respectively), exhibited a higher log10 reduction than indirect UV-C for C. auris (log10 reduction 2.41 and 1.96, respectively), which was statistically significant (Fig. 1 and Table 1). For C. albicans, although direct UV-C had a higher log10 reduction (log10 reduction with and without FCS, 5.26 and 5.07, respectively) compared to indirect exposure (log10 reduction with and without FCS, 3.96 and 3.56, respectively), this difference was not statistically significant. The vertical UV had statistically higher log10 reductions than horizontal UV against C. auris and C. albicans with FCS and without FCS. For example, for C. auris with FCS the log10 reduction for vertical surfaces was 4.92 (95% CI 3.79, 6.04) and for horizontal surfaces the log10 reduction was 2.87 (95% CI, 2.36–3.38). Conclusions:C. auris can be inactivated on environmental surfaces by UV-C as long as factors that affect inactivation are optimized (eg, exposure time). These data and other published UV-C data should be used in developing cycle parameters that prevent contaminated surfaces from being a source of acquisition by staff or patients of this globally emerging pathogen.Funding: NoneDisclosures: None

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Detection of Strawberry Diseases Using a Convolutional Neural Network

Plants ◽

10.3390/plants10010031 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (1) ◽

pp. 31

Author(s):

Jia-Rong Xiao ◽

Pei-Che Chung ◽

Hung-Yi Wu ◽

Quoc-Hung Phan ◽

Jer-Liang Andrew Yeh ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Network ◽

Powdery Mildew ◽

Convolutional Neural Network ◽

Image Recognition ◽

Cost Effective ◽

Gray Mold ◽

Leaf Blight ◽

Crown Rot ◽

Accuracy Rate ◽

Fruit Disease

The strawberry (Fragaria × ananassa Duch.) is a high-value crop with an annual cultivated area of ~500 ha in Taiwan. Over 90% of strawberry cultivation is in Miaoli County. Unfortunately, various diseases significantly decrease strawberry production. The leaf and fruit disease became an epidemic in 1986. From 2010 to 2016, anthracnose crown rot caused the loss of 30–40% of seedlings and ~20% of plants after transplanting. The automation of agriculture and image recognition techniques are indispensable for detecting strawberry diseases. We developed an image recognition technique for the detection of strawberry diseases using a convolutional neural network (CNN) model. CNN is a powerful deep learning approach that has been used to enhance image recognition. In the proposed technique, two different datasets containing the original and feature images are used for detecting the following strawberry diseases—leaf blight, gray mold, and powdery mildew. Specifically, leaf blight may affect the crown, leaf, and fruit and show different symptoms. By using the ResNet50 model with a training period of 20 epochs for 1306 feature images, the proposed CNN model achieves a classification accuracy rate of 100% for leaf blight cases affecting the crown, leaf, and fruit; 98% for gray mold cases, and 98% for powdery mildew cases. In 20 epochs, the accuracy rate of 99.60% obtained from the feature image dataset was higher than that of 1.53% obtained from the original one. This proposed model provides a simple, reliable, and cost-effective technique for detecting strawberry diseases.

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