Crop Protection 114 (2018) 90–96

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Crop Protection
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Sodium bicarbonate salts for the control of postharvest black rot disease in T
yellow pitahaya (Selenicereus megalanthus)
Rosa Vilaplana∗, Patricia Alba, Silvia Valencia-Chamorro
Department of Food Science and Biotechnology, School of Chemical Engineering and Agro-Industry, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Quito,
Ecuador

A R T I C LE I N FO A B S T R A C T

Keywords: Black rot caused by Alternaria alternata in yellow pitahaya (Selenicereus megalanthus) is a significant postharvest
Alternaria alternata disease that is difficult to control. Sodium bicarbonate (SBC) treatments were tested in order to incorporate them
GRAS compounds into an integrated disease management program and to reduce postharvest use of synthetic fungicide. The
Disease control control of black rot on fruit treated with 298 mM (2.5%) sodium bicarbonate (SBC) was superior to that resulting
Sensory quality
from other SBC treatments on fruit examined after 21 d at 12 °C plus 5 d of shelf-life at 20 °C. Treatment with
Shelf-life
298 mM reduced weight loss, retained color and firmness, slowed changes in total soluble solids, titratable acid
content, and pH of yellow pitahaya during storage and shelf-life. After storage, the general appearance of fruit
treated with 298 mM SBC was significantly better than that of those treated with imazalil or non-treated fruit.
Treatment with 298 mM SBC is potentially useful in controlling postharvest black rot in yellow pitahaya without
harming its sensory quality.

1. Introduction include depressed water-soaked injuries with olive to black powdery

Yellow pitahaya (Selenicereus megalanthus) is a valuable agricultural
commodity in Ecuador which, in recent years, has emerged as an or-
namental and fruit crop with high commercial value. This exotic sub-
tropical, climacteric fruit (Osuna Enciso et al., 2011; Rodríguez et al.,
2005) with yellow peel, is very attractive in appearance when fresh
(Mizrahi, 2014). It has bracteoles that are small salient formations; its
pulp has a sweet-sour characteristic flavor, with delicate aroma and
taste, and copious small black seeds evenly dispersed in the tissue (Li
et al., 2017). Yellow pitahaya seeds contain essential oleic and linoleic
fatty acids that play important roles in reducing cholesterol, activating
the digestive function and preventing colon cancer, and diabetes
(Ariffin et al., 2009).
One constraint in yellow pitahaya is that it has a short postharvest
life due to accelerated ripening caused by high respiration and weight
loss. The dehydration of fruit is perceptible eight days following harvest
(Ali et al., 2013; Chutichudet and Chutichudet, 2011), and signs include
browning and necrosis of the skin (Serna Cock et al., 2013). Further-
more, the pitahaya fruit was reported to be seriously vulnerable to
several complex diseases caused by fungi, such as A. alternata, that
cause serious postharvest losses (Ortiz-Hernández and Carrillo-Salazar,
2012; Rita et al., 2013). This fungus usually infects lesions on ripe fruit
with high water activity during postharvest periods and the symptoms
stains coexisting with soft rot (Qin and Tian, 2004).
Currently, synthetic fungicides, such as imazalil, are commonly used
to control diseases that affect yellow pitahaya (Vilaplana et al., 2017).
However, environmental impact and the proliferation of resistant
strains have awakened public consciousness about the injurious effects
of fungicides on human health (Gamagae et al., 2004; Obagwu and
Korsten, 2003; Palou et al., 2002).
In the last few years, there has been an increased interest in finding
alternative control methods that would be efficient against pathogens;
among those being studied are hot water dips, at 50 °C for 2 min on
yellow pitahaya (Vilaplana et al., 2017) as well as safe chemicals like
food preservatives (Gamagae et al., 2003). Selected inorganic and or-
ganic salts have also been extensively used in the food industry as active
antimicrobial agents. Carbonic salts such as sodium bicarbonate (SBC,
NaHCO3) are readily accessible, can be used without serious risk of
damage to the fruit, and are inexpensive and less cumbersome in con-
trast to other non-chemical alternatives such as heat treatments and
biological control (De Costa and Gunawardhana, 2012). SBC exhibits a
broad spectrum of antifungal activity (Karabulut et al., 2001), is gen-
erally acknowledged as safe to use (GRAS) by the US Food and Drug
Administration (Palou et al., 2001), and is also presented as being ex-
empt from residue tolerance on all agricultural commodities
(Larrigaudière et al., 2002).

∗
Corresponding author.
E-mail address: rosa.vilaplana@epn.edu.ec (R. Vilaplana).

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2018.08.021
Received 5 March 2018; Received in revised form 7 August 2018; Accepted 13 August 2018
0261-2194/ © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
R. Vilaplana et al.
Although, there is extensive literature describing the effect of SBC in
reducing postharvest decay, mainly on citrus fruit (Smilanick et al.,
1999; Youssef et al., 2014; Zhu et al., 2013) such as apples (Conway
et al., 2005), pears (Lai et al., 2015), melons (Aharoni et al., 1997) and
bananas (Alvindia et al., 2004; De Costa and Gunawardhana, 2012), to
our knowledge, this is the first time this method has been used on
yellow pitahaya in order to control black rot during storage and shelf-
life periods. With the purpose of using alternative methods to improve
the quality of yellow pitahaya during postharvest, a series of experi-
ments were carried out to compare the effects of several SBC treatments
to the action of chemical fungicides, on the development of black rot
caused by A. alternata. Moreover, upon the completion of this study, it
was possible to determine if these SBC treatments affected the physi-
cochemical and sensory quality of yellow pitahaya during the post-
harvest period and shelf-life.
2. Materials and methods
2.1. Fruit and pathogen inoculum
Yellow pitahaya (Selenicereus megalanthus) were obtained early in
the morning from a commercial orchard located in the Pedro Vicente
Maldonado canton, Pichincha, Ecuador, and were rapidly transferred to
the postharvest laboratory. Upon arrival, the fruit to be used was se-
lected based on the uniformity of its size (161 ± 14.1 g of mass) and
color (mature green-index 4), absence of physical injuries, and were
then randomly divided into lots of 20 pitahayas each.
A. alternata strain HP13 was isolated from infected yellow pitahaya
fruit in the laboratory of the Food Science and Biotecnology
Department of the Escuela Politécnica Nacional (Quito, Ecuador) and
identified by DNA amplification of Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS)
region (results not shown). It was cultivated in a potato dextrose agar
medium (PDA) (Difco™, Le Pont de Claix, France) and incubated at
25 °C for 10 d. Its virulence was tested in a previous study (Valencia-
Chamorro et al., 2016). The spores were removed from the culture
surface, suspended in 5 mL of sterile distilled water containing 0.05%
(v/v) Tween 80, and filtered through four layers of sterile cheesecloth
in order to remove any adhered mycelia. Spore concentration of A.
alternata HP13 was determined using a hemocytometer adjusted to 105
conidia mL−1 after adding sterile distilled water.
2.2. Sodium bicarbonate
Different concentrations of 119 mM (1.0%), 179 mM (1.5%),
298 mM (2.5%) and 357 mM (3.0%) of SBC (LAQUIN CIA. LTDA, Quito,
Ecuador) at pH 8.3–8.4, were used in this study.
2.3. Curative activity of SBC on yellow pitahaya
Following harvest, fruit was washed with sodium hypochlorite 5%
pH 7.5 (Fast Concentrated Chlorite, Quito, Ecuador) for 2 min, rinsed
with tap water, and allowed to air-dry at room temperature (Vilaplana
et al., 2017).
Surface-disinfected yellow pitahaya was punctured once in the mid-
section of the fruit with a sterile steel rod. The puncture was 3 mm deep
and 3 mm wide. An aqueous suspension of A. alternata HP13 (15 μL) at
105 conidia mL−1 was applied to each wound and allowed to dry for 2 h
(Zhang et al., 2007). Puncture-inoculated fruit was divided into six
groups: i) CK (Control group): non-treated; ii) F: sprayed with imazalil
synthetic fungicide (0.4 g L−1) until whole surface area is covered; the
rest of treatments were immersed in a SBC dip for 1 min at iii) 119 mM,
iv) 179 mM, v) 298 mM and vi) 357 mM. The yellow pitahaya were then
immersed in 30 L of room temperature (20 °C) SBC water solutions. The
fruit: water ratio was (w/v) 1:5.
Twenty yellow pitahaya constituted a replicate in each treatment
and each test was replicated four times. After treatment, all fruit was
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Crop Protection 114 (2018) 90–96
stored at 12 °C for 21 d (relative humidity RH = 80%), plus 5 d at 20 °C
(RH = 85%) to simulate marketing period (shelf-life). The diameter of
lesions were measured on a daily basis in order to obtain rot dynamics
information. The results, representing presence of decay, were labeled
as severity (mm) produced by A. alternata HP13 and the experiment
was repeated twice.
2.4. Effect of SBC treatments on the postharvest physicochemical quality of
yellow pitahaya
In order to evaluate the effect of SBC on the postharvest quality
parameters of yellow pitahaya, freshly harvested fruit was artificially
inoculated, treated and stored as described above. Weight loss, color,
firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA) and pH were
the physicochemical parameters assessed. Quality parameters were
tested on twenty fruit specimens for each treatment, and performed at
room temperature (about 20 °C), before treatment (0 d) and after 7, 14
and 21 d of cold storage at 12 °C, plus 5 d of shelf-life at 20 °C (26 d).
The experiment was repeated twice. The yellow pitahaya were weighed
(Boeco, model BBA-51, Germany) before treatment (A) and after 7, 14,
21 d of storage at 12 °C plus 5 d at 20 °C (B), and weight loss was cal-
culated as [(A-B)/A] x 100 (Zhou et al., 2002) and expressed as a
percentage (%). Surface color evaluations (L*, a*, b*) were obtained
from the middle section of intact fruit with a Minolta Chroma Meter
(model CR-200, Osaka, Japan) using CIE illuminant C lighting condi-
tions and an 8 mm-diameter measuring area. Changes in color were
labeled as Luminosity (L*), and Saturation [(a*)2 + (b*)2]1/2, that
defines the brightness and intensity of the color and Hue angle [Tan−1
(b*/a*)] (López and Gómez, 2004). Flesh (pulp) firmness (N) was
measured at two points of the middle section of each individual fruit
sample using a penetrometer (Effegi, Milan, Italy) fitted with an 8 mm
diameter flat tip. The juice of five pitahayas was used for measuring TSS
and TA. The percentage of TSS was determined by measuring the re-
fractive index of a few drops of the juice using a digital refractometer
(Atago PAL-alpha, Japan). Data were expressed in percentage terms (g
100 g−1 fresh weight) (Larrigaudière et al., 2002). TA was determined
in a mixture containing 5 mL of juice, 50 mL H2O and 0.1% phe-
nolphthalein, which was titrated with 0.1 M NaOH to a pH end-point of
8.1. Acidity was expressed in grams of citric acid per liter of juice
(Wright and Kader, 1997). Tissue pH was established using an elec-
tronic pH Meter (Fisher Scientific AB150, USA).
2.5. Effect of SBC treatment on postharvest sensory quality of yellow
pitahaya
This study was conducted with non-inoculated fruit. The sensory
quality of fruit subjected to the most effective SBC treatment was
compared to control fruit (CK) and fruit treated with imazalil (F). These
results were evaluated by 12 semi-trained judges who were familiar
with the sensory qualities of yellow pitahaya, just after treatment (0 d),
and after 7, 14 and 21 d of storage at 12 °C. Judges rated general ap-
pearance regarding fruit freshness, base on a 5-point hedonic scale,
where 1 = poor and 5 = excellent quality. For this test, nine fruit
samples from each treatment were selected and grouped (three samples
in each group), and samples were presented to judges on trays labeled
with 3-digit random codes.
Flavor, sweetness, sourness and off-flavor were also evaluated by
judges based on a 5 point hedonic scale where 1 = absence of, and
5 = presence of. Eleven fruit samples from each treatment were chosen
for this test, their ends were cut, and then they were peeled, and sliced.
Three slices, from each treatment, were served to panelists on separate
trays randomly labeled with 3-digit codes. Water was provided for
palate rinsing between samples.
R. Vilaplana et al.
2.6. Statistical Analysis
Severity, quality and sensorial parameters of fruit were subjected to
analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the Statgraphics Centurion XVI for
Windows. Statistical significance was assessed and data were subjected
to mean separation using the LSD test (Least Significant Difference) test,
(p < 0.05).
3. Results and discussion
3.1. Effect of SBC treatments on black rot development in artificially
inoculated yellow pitahaya
State of the art treatments discovered in the last two decades, are an
indication of the arduous work carried out by researchers to find a safe
alternative method of reducing or even replacing the use of chemical
fungicides on fruit. SBC has been considered a feasible technology to
prevent postharvest rot development due to its direct antifungal effect
that induces fruit defense mechanisms (Youssef et al., 2014).
Black rot severity in yellow pitahaya treated with SBC, as well as
those untreated is reported in Fig. 1. Postharvest decay on yellow pi-
tahaya, caused by A. alternata, showed a linear pattern during storage
period and shelf-life. However, after 7 days of storage, severity in
control fruit (CK) was higher than in other treatments (p < 0.05)
(Fig. 1). Results showed that a 298 mM SBC treatment before storage,
significantly reduced (p < 0.05) black rot, and cold storage was ex-
tended up to 21 d and shelf-life up to 5 d. The premise indicating that to
more concentration of SBC more rot control was not accomplished in
this study. It is appreciable that 298 mM of SBC effectively reduced A.
alternata incidence and severity in yellow pitahaya.
Although, fruit treated with imazalil (F) exhibited lower decay
(p < 0.05) than fruit treated with 298 mM SBC, control using this
concentration of SBC was significant enough to be considered as a
possible alternative treatment against A. alternata. After 21 d of cold
storage at 12 °C plus 5 d at 20 °C, imazalil and 298 mM of SBC reduced
black rot by 55% and 44%, respectively (Fig. 1).
SBC has effectively controlled green and blue mold on citrus fruit
caused by Penicillium digitatum and P. italicum, respectively (Obagwu
and Korsten, 2003; Porat et al., 2002; Smilanick et al., 1999; Usall et al.,
Fig. 1. Severity (mm) caused by A. alternata HP13 in yellow pitahayas treated with sodium bicarbonate over 21 d of cold storage at 12 °C plus 5 d of shelf-life at 20 °C
(26 d). Yellow pitahayas were pre-inoculated with A. alternata HP13 at 105 conidia mL−1. (●) CK (control fruit): non-treated; (○) F: imazalil (0.4 g L−1); (■)
119 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 119 mM; (☐) 179 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 179 mM; (▲) 298 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 298 mM and (Δ) 357 mM: sodium
bicarbonate at 357 mM. Each point represents the mean of one hundred and sixty different fruit LSD (p < 0.05).
92
Crop Protection 114 (2018) 90–96
2008; Zhu et al., 2013). Palou et al. (2002) found that the reduction of
green and blue molds was 40–60% on mandarins dipped for 60 or 150 s
in 238 or 357 mM SBC solutions at room temperature, after 7 d of sto-
rage at 20 °C. Analogous results were obtained in the study by
Karabulut et al. (2005) where treatments with 238 mM of SBC were
effective in controlling Botrytis cinerea in sweet cherries stored for
60 d at 0 °C and then for an additional 5 d at 20 °C; and in reducing the
incidence of Colletotrichum gloesporioides on papaya stored at 13.5 °C for
10 d (Gamagae et al., 2003). Alvindia et al. (2004) reported a 62%
reduction of crown rot on bananas treated with 71 mM of SBC and
stored 10 d at 12–13 °C; while De Costa and Gunawardhana (2012) re-
ported a reduction of anthracnose lesion areas on artificially inoculated
bananas treated with 298 mM of SBC. However, different results were
obtained in the control of blue mold in apples, where Conway et al.
(2005) found that the use of 238 mM of SBC had little effect in con-
trolling P. expansum in apples after 4 months at 1 °C plus 14 d at 20 °C;
Janisiewicz et al. (2008) observed a 53% reduction of P. expansum in
apples treated with 238 mM of SBC and stored at 1 °C for 5.5 months. In
pears, Lai et al. (2015) obtained a 43.3% reduction of blue mold in fruit
treated with 71 mM of SBC after 8 d of storage at 25 °C.
3.2. Effect of SBC treatments on the postharvest physicochemical quality of
yellow pitahaya
Yellow pitahaya are highly susceptible to weight loss during storage
and shelf-life due mainly to the migration of water from the fruit to the
environment (Osuna Enciso et al., 2011; Vilaplana et al., 2017). As
shown in Fig. 2, the weight loss registered by control (non-treated) fruit
when using synthetic fungicide and SBC treatments increased con-
tinuously during storage. After 21 d of cold storage at 12 °C the weight
loss of non-treated fruit was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that
of those treated with imazalil and 298 mM of SBC. After a shelf-life
period of 5 d at 20 °C fruit treated with 298 mM of SBC and yellow pi-
tahaya treated with imazalil showed less (p < 0.05) weight loss than
when using other treatments (Fig. 2). At the end of shelf-life, 298 mM of
SBC, prevented weight loss in yellow pitahaya in the same manner as
chemical fungicides. In this study, concentrations of SBC higher than
298 mM did not help mitigate weight loss during cold storage (Fig. 2).
Analogous results were obtained by Obagwu and Korsten (2003) and by
R. Vilaplana et al. Crop Protection 114 (2018) 90–96

Fig. 2. Weight loss (%) in yellow pitahaya inoculated with A. alternata HP13 and treated with sodium bicarbonate over 21 d of cold storage at 12 °C plus 5 d of shelf-
life at 20 °C (26 d). (■) CK (control fruit): non-treated; (☐) F: imazalil (0.4 g L−1); ( ) 119 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 119 mM; ( ) 179 mM: sodium bicarbonate at
179 mM; ( ) 298 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 298 mM and ( ) 357 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 357 mM. Each column represents the mean of forty different fruit.
Columns with different letters were significantly different according to LSD test, (p < 0.05).

Scherrer Montero et al. (2010) where no differences were found be-
tween non-treated tangerines or oranges and those treated with
357 mM of SBC. Conversely, treatment with 238 mM of SBC on clem-
entines increased weight loss in fruit stored during 45 d at 5 °C
(Larrigaudière et al., 2002).
Fruit treated with SBC and synthetic fungicide showed few changes
in L* values during cold storage period and shelf-life (Table 1). How-
ever, in this study it was found that senescence presented an inverse
relation with saturation (Table 2). Values of this parameter decreased
as yellow pitahaya ripened, and increased in fruit with less senescence
such as in yellow pitahaya treated with 298 mM of SBC and treated with
synthetic fungicide (F). Similar results were obtained with yellow pi-
tahaya dipped in hot water (50 °C during 2 min) before storage or in
Andean blackberry and guava; in all three cases an inverse relation
between saturation and fruit maturity was also detected (Arteaga et al.,
2014; Teixeira et al., 2016; Vilaplana et al., 2017). Results showed that
yellow pitahaya hue angle decreased throughout cold storage and shelf-
life (Table 1). After 21 d at 12 °C, the reduction of hue angle was sig-
nificantly (p < 0.05) lower in fruit treated with 298 mM of SBC and
yellow pitahaya treated with imazalil than in non-treated fruit. How-
ever, after 5 d of shelf-life at 20 °C, the reduction of hue angle was
significantly (p < 0.05) lower in yellow pitahaya treated with 298 mM
of SBC than in non-treated fruit and fruit treated with synthetic fun-
gicide (Table 1). These results indicated that SBC at 298 mM main-
tained yellow color up to 21 d at 12 °C plus 5 d at 20 °C, an equal or an
even better result than that of fruit treated with fungicide (Table 1).
Scherrer Montero et al. (2010) did not obtain result differences in
tangerines treated with 357 mM of SBC or imazalil when compared to
non-treated fruit.
On the other hand, due to cell degradation and loss of turgor, yellow
pitahaya firmness decreased slightly in fruit treated with imazalil and
fruit treated with SBC and stored at 12 °C during 21 d plus 5 d at 20 °C,
in comparison with non-treated fruit (Fig. 3). However, fruit treated
with SBC was firmer than non-treated fruit throughout cold storage.
Twenty-one days after the beginning of cold storage, the firmness of
fruit treated with 298 mM of SBC was significantly higher (p < 0.05)
than non-treated fruit and even higher (p < 0.05) than yellow pitahaya
treated with synthetic fungicide (Fig. 3). The same pattern was ob-
served in yellow pitahaya treated with 298 mM of SBC after 5 d at 20 °C
(Fig. 3). Similar results were found by Aharoni et al. (1997), where after
14 d at 3 °C and an additional 4 days at 20 °C, the firmness of melons
treated with 238 mM of SBC was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than
in non-treated fruit. However, no differences in firmness were observed
in mandarins treated with 238 mM of SBC (Hong et al., 2014); ad-
ditionally Larrigaudière et al. (2002) showed in their study that clem-
entines treated with 238 mM of SBC presented less firmness than non-
treated fruit after 60 d of storage at 5 °C.
In climacteric fruit, alterations in TSS and TA during ripening were
associated with an increase in ethylene production and respiration
rates; some of the primary changes included an increase in membrane
permeability, loss of pulp firmness, decrease in starch, increase in
sugar, decrease of peel thickness as well as changes in color and aroma

Table 1
Color (L*, Saturation, and Hue angle) parameters in yellow pitahayas artificially inoculated A. alternata HP13, treated with sodium bicarbonate, stored at 12 °C for
21 d plus 5 d of shelf-life at 20 °C (26 d).
Treatment L* Saturation Hue Angle
Harvest (0 d) = 71.1 LSD = 0.172 Harvest (0 d) = 51.4 LSD = 0.300 Harvest (0 d) = 95.9 LSD = 0.196

7d 14d 21d 26d 7d 14d 21d 26d 7d 14d 21d 26d

CK 72.1b 72.6a 72.2a 71.1a 52.4b 52.2cd 52.7b 52.0c 94.6ab 93.3bc 91.6b 91.3d
F 72.4a 72.3b 72.1ab 71.2a 52.7b 53.4a 53.1a 53.3a 94.4b 93.6a 92.3a 91.7bc
119 mM 71.6d 71.8d 71.5d 70.8c 51.8cd 52.0d 52.5bc 51.8c 94.4b 93.7a 92.1a 91.8b
179 mM 71.8c 72.1c 71.7c 70.9bc 51.7d 52.1d 52.0d 50.4d 94.7a 93.1c 92.2a 90.8e
298 mM 72.3ab 71.7d 72.0b 71.1a 53.1a 52.8b 53.2a 53.4a 94.1c 93.7a 92.2a 92.0a
357 mM 71.6d 71.4e 71.6cd 71.0ab 52.1c 52.5c 52.4c 52.4b 94.4b 93.4b 92.2c 91.6c

Values represent means of 40 different fruits. Values in the same column followed by different letters are significantly different by LSD test (p < 0.05).
CK: non-treated; F: imazalil (0.4 g L−1); 119 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 119 mM; 179 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 179 mM; 298 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 298 mM;
357 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 357 mM.

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R. Vilaplana et al. Crop Protection 114 (2018) 90–96

Table 2
TSS (%), TA (g citric acid L−1) and pH in yellow pitahayas artificially inoculated by A. alternata HP13, treated with sodium bicarbonate, and stored at 12 °C up to 21 d
plus 5 d of shelf-life at 20 °C (26 d).
Treatment TSS TA pH
Harvest (0 d) = 16.2 LSD = 0.157 Harvest (0 d) = 1.1 LSD = 0.017 Harvest (0 d) = 4.7 LSD = 0.006

7d 14d 21d 26d 7d 14d 21d 26d 7d 14d 21d 26d

CK 18.7a 17.7a 17.3a 15.8a 1.1a 1.1c 1.0e 1.3d 4.8c 4.8b 4.8a 5.1c
F 17.5bc 17.4b 16.6c 15.5b 1.1d 1.2a 1.1d 1.3d 4.8b 4.8d 4.8b 4.9e
119 mM 17.6b 17.3b 17.0b 15.6b 1.1cd 1.2a 1.2b 1.5a 4.8a 4.8cd 4.8d 5.0d
179 mM 17.2d 16.9c 15.4d 14.8d 1.0e 1.0d 1.2b 1.4b 4.8b 4.8a 4.8b 5.1b
298 mM 17.3cd 17.0c 16.5c 15.2c 1.1b 1.1c 1.2a 1.4c 4.8b 4.8a 4.8c 5.0d
357 mM 17.2d 17.0c 16.5c 15.8a 1.1bc 1.1b 1.1c 1.3e 4.8a 4.8c 4.8a 5.1a

Values represent means of 40 different fruits. Values in the same column followed by different letters are significantly different by LSD test (p < 0.05).
CK: non-treated; F: imazalil (0.4 g L−1); 119 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 119 mM; 179 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 179 mM; 298 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 298 mM;
357 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 357 mM.

(Ahmed and Palta, 2016). Variations were detected in TSS and TA va-
lues during yellow pitahaya storage (Table 2). In both cases the ten-
dency was to increase their values during the 21 d of conservation at
12 °C in all treatments. However, TSS values after cold storage re-
mained significantly lower (p < 0.05) in fruit treated with 298 mM of
SBC and synthetic fungicide than in non-treated fruit (Table 2). Varia-
tions in TSS can be explained due to fruit metabolism, associated with
the consumption of energy such as ATP (Piriyavinit et al., 2011). These
processes include the conversion of starch into glucose and fructose and
their use, through metabolic pathways, as substrates for respiration
(Lima et al., 2011). TA values in yellow pitahaya treated with 298 mM
of SBC were higher (p < 0.05) than those of in untreated and chemi-
cally treated fruit after 21 d of storage at 12 °C (Table 2). Fluctuation in
TA can be generated by the metabolism of organic acids that are con-
sumed in oxidative reactions during ripening and the synthesis of citric
acid, as well as from glucose in the Krebs cycle (Sweetman et al., 2009).
Differences of fruit quality parameters in chemical temps were evident,
depending on the commodity. Scherrer Montero et al. (2010) found that
both TSS and TA were reduced in tangerines treated with 357 mM of
SBC, De Costa and Gunawardhana (2012) observed an increase of TSS
in bananas treated with 71 mM of SBC and no difference in TSS and TA
values were found in mandarins treated with 238 mM of SBC compared
with non-treated fruit (Hong et al., 2014). As shown in Table 2, there
was a slight increase in fruit pH during cold storage. However, after
5 d at 20 °C, pH increase was more pronounced in all SBC treatments,
except for that of fruit treated with a synthetic fungicide (Table 2).
Analogous results were obtained in bananas treated with 238 mM of
SBC (De Costa and Gunawardhana, 2012).
In this study, a slower rate of senescence occurred in fruit treated
with 298 mM of SBC than in non-treated fruit.
3.3. Sensorial quality of yellow pitahaya treated with SBC
The general appearance of yellow pitahaya after 21 d of storage at
12 °C was better (p < 0.05) in fruit treated with 298 mM of SBC and
that treated with chemical fungicide than in untreated fruit (Table 3).
This fact was symptomatic of less senescence in fruit treated with
298 mM of SBC. Moreover, there were no differences between the
general appearance of fruit treated with 298 mM of SBC and that
treated with imazalil (Table 3). Non-treated fruit was deeply damaged
and unfit for consumption.
No significant differences in flavor were observed between treat-
ments, and according to panelists' opinions, sweetness and sourness
were scored better (p < 0.05) in fruit treated with chemical fungicide
than in those treated with 298 mM of SBC. However, no off-flavor dif-
ferences were obtained between fruit treated with 298 mM of SBC and

Fig. 3. Firmness (N) in yellow pitahayas inoculated with A. alternata HP13 and treated with sodium bicarbonate over 21 d of cold storage at 12 °C plus 5 d of shelf-life
at 20 °C (26 d). (■) CK (control fruit): non-treated; (☐) F: imazalil (0.4 g L−1); ( ) 119 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 119 mM; ( ) 179 mM: sodium bicarbonate at
179 mM; ( ) 298 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 298 mM and ( ) 357 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 357 mM. Each column represents the mean of forty different fruit.
Columns with different letters were significantly different according to LSD test, (p < 0.05).

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R. Vilaplana et al. Crop Protection 114 (2018) 90–96

Table 3
Sensory parameters of yellow pitahaya, treated with sodium bicarbonate, and stored at 12 °C for 21 d.
Sensory parameters

Treatment General appearance LSD = 0.192 Flavor LSD = 0.210 Sweetness LSD = 0.228 Sourness LSD = 0.158 Off-Flavor LSD = 0.115

0d 7d 14d 21d 0d 7d 14d 21d 0d 7d 14d 21d 0d 7d 14d 21d 0d 7d 14d 21d

CK 3.7b 3.1c 3.1a 2.2b 2.3b 3.1b 2.9b 3.1a 2.9b 3.1b 3.0b 3.0a 1.2b 1.7a 1.2b 1.2a 1.3a 1.1ab 1.2a 1.2a
F 3.7b 3.3b 2.9b 2.4a 3.1a 3.0b 3.2a 3.0a 3.2a 3.4a 3.2b 2.8b 1.6a 1.2b 1.2b 1.3b 1.1b 1.2a 1.2a 1.2ab
298 mM 3.9a 3.6a 3.3a 2.5a 2.9a 3.4a 3.1ab 3.0a 3.4a 3.2ab 3.5a 3.1a 1.3b 1.2b 1.4a 1.2a 1.4a 1.0b 1.2a 1.1b

Values for sensory parameters relate 12 different judges. Differences between treatments for each time were analyzed by LSD multiple range test. Values in the same
column followed by different letter are significantly different by LSD test (p < 0.05).
CK: non-treated; F: imazalil (0.4 g L−1); 298 mM: sodium bicarbonate at 298 mM.

those treated with imazalil, after 21 d of storage at 12 °C. Gamagae et al.
(2003) obtained similar results in papaya treated with SBC; in that case,
the general appearance of fruit treated with 238 mM of SBC was scored
better (p < 0.05) by panelists than that of untreated fruit after 10 d at
13.5 °C.
4. Conclusions
This study shows that the use of 298 mM (2.5%) of SBC is viable in
reducing black rot incidence just as is fungicide treatment during
21 d at 12 °C plus 5 d at 20 °C.
SBC delayed fruit ripening, and taste panels showed that yellow
pitahaya treated with 298 mM of SBC could be stored with good sensory
quality up to 21 d at 12 °C.
Acknowledgements
The authors gratefully acknowledge Escuela Politécnica Nacional
(Project PIMI 14-16), the Higher Education, Science, Technology and
Innovation-SENESCYT (PROMETEO Project, period 2014–2016), MAE-
DNB-CM-2016-0057 Contract, and Pitacava Cía. Ltda.
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