Edible Coatings of HPMC, Arabic Gum, and Geraniol for Postharvest Preservation of Cold-Stored Plums

The objective of the Post-Harvest Technology Center (CTP) at IVIA, co-led by researchers Dr. Mar?a Bernardita P?rez-Gago and Prof. Llu?s Palou, focuses on developing and evaluating new antifungal edible coatings for fresh fruit. Within this line of research, laboratory in vivo trials assessed the efficacy of an edible coating formulated with a matrix of hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) and Arabic gum infused with geraniol (0.2%) for controlling brown rot in plums (Prunus salicina) cv. 'Angeleno'. Plums were artificially inoculated with the pathogenic fungus Monilinia fructicola and the coating was applied 24 hours later. ResultsThe curative activity of the coating was evaluated during 5 weeks of cold storage at 1?C and 90% RH, followed by 3 days at 20?C to simulate commercialization conditions. The results demonstrated reductions in disease incidence and severity compared to untreated control fruit, showing 38% and 65% reductions, respectively. Moreover, external and internal post-harvest quality of the fruit was evaluated after 5 and 8 weeks at 1?C, plus 3 days at 7?C, and an additional 5 days at 20?C, simulating commercial conditions for cold storage, transportation, and marketing. It was observed that coated (non-inoculated) fruit maintained better firmness, external color (parameters L*, a*, b*, C*, hue), exhibited more shine, and experienced less cold damage than control fruit, without negatively affecting juice quality or sensory characteristics of the plums. Collaboration between IVIA's CTP and Malayer University (Iran)This study is the result of collaboration between IVIA's CTP and the Malayer University (Iran), where doctoral student Zahra Sadat Asgarian conducted research at the CTP, funded by the Ministry of Science, Research, and Technology of Iran. The work was carried out within the framework of the European project StopMedWaste (PRIMA Program of the European Union, financed by NextGenerationEU/PRTR funds from the State Research Agency, Project PCI2020-112095), co-financed by IVIA (project No. 52201), and the EU through the Operational Program of the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER) of the Valencian Community 2021-2027. The research has been published in Open Access in the scientific journal Foods under the title "Hydroxypropyl Methylcellulose and Gum Arabic Composite Edible Coatings Amended with Geraniol to Control Postharvest Brown Rot and Maintain Quality of Cold-Stored Plums" and is accessible in ReDivia, IVIA's institutional repository.