QUALITY AND DISEASE INCIDENCE OF WAIMANALO SOLO PAPAYA FOLLOWING FORCED-AIR HEAT-TREATMENTS

Papaya fruit (Carica papaya L. cv. Waimanalo Solo),at color break ripe ness, were either not heated (controls) or forced-air heated to center temperatures of 47.5, 48.5, or 49.5 degrees C, and held at these temp eratures for 20, 60, 120, or 180 minutes, Following heat treatment, fr uit were hydrocooled until reaching a center temperature of 30 degrees C, treated or not treated with prochloraz, allowed to ripen at 26 deg rees C and then assessed for quality. Treatment at 48.5 degrees C or 4 9.5 degrees C for greater than or equal to 60 minutes was associated w ith skin scalding. No significant scald was observed in other treatmen ts or in the controls. Both control and heat-treated fruit had relativ ely high levels of decay. Heat treatment increased the incidence of bo dy rots hut did not affect the incidence of stem-end rots. Prochloraz treatment significantly reduced the incidence of decay. With the inclu sion of a prochloraz treatment to central postharvest decay, fruit tol erated treatments of 47.5 OC for up to 120 minutes, and 48.5 degrees C and 49.5 degrees C for 20 minutes with no significant damage. Chemica l name used: trichlorophenoxy)ethyl)-1H-imidazole-1-carboxamide (proch loraz).