• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.38 no.2
• /
• pp.87-94
• /
• 2013

Purpose: Pineapple is now the third most important tropical fruit in world production after banana and citrus. Phytosanitary irradiation is recognized as a promising alternative treatment to chemical fumigation. However, most of the phytosanitary irradiation studies have dealt with physiochemical properties and its efficacy. Accurate dose calculation is crucial for ensuring proper process control in phytosanitary irradiation. The objective of this study was to optimize phytosanitary irradiation treatment of pineapple in various radiation sources using Monte Carlo simulation. Methods: 3-D geometry and component densities of the pineapple, extracted from CT scan data, were entered into a radiation transport Monte Carlo code (MCNP5) to obtain simulated dose distribution. Radiation energy used for simulation were 2 MeV (low-energy) and 10 MeV (high-energy) for electron beams, 1.25 MeV for gamma-rays, and 5 MeV for X-rays. Results: For low-energy electron beam simulation, electrons penetrated up to 0.75 cm from the pineapple skin, which is good for controlling insect eggs laid just below the fruit surface. For high-energy electron beam simulation, electrons penetrated up to 4.5 cm and the irradiation area occupied 60.2% of the whole area at single-side irradiation and 90.6% at double-side irradiation. For a single-side only gamma- and X-ray source simulation, the entire pineapple was irradiated and dose uniformity ratios (Dmax/Dmin) were 2.23 and 2.19, respectively. Even though both sources had all greater penetrating capability, the X-ray treatment is safer and the gamma-ray treatment is more widely used due to their availability. Conclusions: These results are invaluable for optimizing phytosanitary irradiation treatment planning of pineapple.

• Journal of Radiation Industry
• /
• v.8 no.2
• /
• pp.97-104
• /
• 2014

Postharvest diseases cause considerable losses to harvested fruits and vegetables worldwide. Fresh produce suspected of harboring postharvest disease must be treated to control any pathogens present. Although there are various treatments to control postharvest losses by pathogens, the current community is eager to take safer and more eco-friendly alternatives to help with human health and reduce environmental risks. Ionizing irradiation is a promising phytosanitary treatment that has a significant potential to control postharvest diseases in use worldwide. Although almost 19000 metric tons of sweet potatoes and various fruits are irradiated each year in six countries to control postharvest disease, irradiation continues to be a debate, with slow acceptance by industries. Irradiation alone is not effective as a fungicide, and an over dose affects the physical properties of irradiated products. A combination of irradiation with other treatments such as heating, biocontrol agents, chlorination, and nano Ag particles is to enhance their effectiveness. Challenges to the use of phytosanitary irradiation are an avoidance of irradiated postharvest and cost of the irradiation facilities, and thus consumers still need to be educated on the principles and benefits of irradiation and prepare an optimum economy of scale for commercial use. In this review, we evaluated the current phytosanitary irradiation, and combination with various other treatments to minimize the postharvest losses.

• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
• /
• v.39 no.3
• /
• pp.205-214
• /
• 2014

Purpose: Phytosanitary irradiation treatment can effectively control regulated pests while maintaining produce quality. The objective of this study was to establish the best irradiation treatment for mangosteen, a popular tropical fruit, using a Monte Carlo simulation. Methods: Magnetic resonance image (MRI) data were used to generate a 3-D geometry to simulate dose distributions in a mangosteen using a radiation transport code (MCNP5). Microsoft Excel with visual basic application (VBA) was used to divide the image data into seed, flesh, and rind. Radiation energies used for the simulation were 10 MeV (high-energy) and 1.35 MeV (low-energy) for the electron beam, 5 MeV for X-rays, and 1.25 MeV for gamma rays from Co-60. Results: At 5 MeV X-rays and 1.25 MeV gamma rays, all areas (seeds, flesh, and rind) were irradiated ranging from 0.3 ~ 0.7 kGy. The average doses decreased as the number of fruit increased. For a 10 MeV electron beam, the dose distribution was biased: the dose for the rind where the electrons entered was $0.45{\pm}0.03$ kGy and the other side was $0.24 {\pm}0.10$ kGy. Use of an electron kinetic energy absorber improved the dose distribution in mangosteens. For the 1.35 MeV electron beam, the dose was shown only in the rind on the irradiated side; no significant dose was found in the flesh or seeds. One rotation of the fruit while in front of the beam improved the dose distribution around the entire rind. Conclusion: These results are invaluable for determining the ideal irradiation conditions for phytosanitary irradiation treatment of tropical fruit.

• Entomological Research
• /
• v.48 no.5
• /
• pp.331-338
• /
• 2018

Spotted wing drosophila (SWD) has emerged as a major invasive insect pest of small berry fruits in the Americas and Europe since the late 2000s. Thus, phytosanitary treatment of commodities for export is imperative to prevent the movement of viable SWD to newer areas. In the present study, all developmental stages of SWD were irradiated with different doses of gamma and electron beam radiation to assess developmental inhibition to identify potential quarantine doses of the radiations. Ionizing radiation induced developmental inhibition of all stages of SWD. The effective doses for 99% inhibition ($ED_{99}$) of hatching, pupariation, and adult emergence from irradiated eggs for gamma radiation were 882, 395 and 39 Gy, respectively, compared with 2849, 687, and 41 Gy, respectively, for electron beam radiation. The $ED_{99}$ for inhibition of pupariation and adult emergence in irradiated larvae were 703 and 47 Gy, respectively, for gamma radiation, and 619 and 33 Gy, respectively, for electron beam radiation. Pupal irradiation did not completely inhibit adult emergence, even at 300 Gy. However, irradiation with ${\geq}100Gy$ of puparia induced adult sterility, with no egg production at all. The $ED_{99}$ for inhibition of $F_1$ egg hatchability from adults irradiated with gamma radiation and electron beam radiation was estimated to be 424 and 125 Gy, respectively. The results of the present study suggest that gamma radiation and electron beam radiation are alternatives for phytosanitary treatment. Irradiation with 100 Gy could be suggested as a potential dose for egg, larval, and pupal quarantine treatment of SWD.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.36 no.6
• /
• pp.41-48
• /
• 2008

The required energy for the heat treatment of pine log was evaluated in this study. A proper heat treatment of pine log infected by pinewood nematode (Bursaphelenchus xylophilus) can prevent spreading of the infection by pinewood nematode and make the infected pinewood valuable again. The FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) heat treatment standard for various types of infected wood for which a heat treatment of the core part of the wood is necessary is 30 minutes at $56^{\circ}C$, taking into account the international standards for phytosanitary measures (ISPM No. 15). In this study, the energy consumption during the heat treatment was separated into two kinds of energy, initial energy for heating kiln drier and to reach set point temperature and relative humidity and the required energy supplementing heat loss. The initial required energy per unit time is greater than that during the treatment. The energy consumption per unit time varied little during the heat treatment. As a result, the set point relative humidity with set dry bulb temperature and density of wood dependent on moisture content are very important factors to change energy consumption in the experiment. The heat treatment at higher temperature and higher humidity levels requires more energy consumption but less treatment time. It is expected that a more effective energy program could be planed for the heat treatment of pine log through this study.

• Journal of the Korean Wood Science and Technology
• /
• v.35 no.6
• /
• pp.50-56
• /
• 2007

FAO standard for heat sterilization of wood, International standards for phytosanitary measures (ISPM) No.15, must meet heat-treated wood core temperature to be higher than $56^{\circ}C$ and keep the temperature for more than 30 minutes. This study was carried out to analyze the heat treatment characteristics of domestic pinewood sterilized with the FAO standard. To enhance the effectiveness of heat treatment process in mountainous district energy consumption and time required to reach target temperature were evaluated at various temperature and relative humidity conditions and moisture contents of wood. Heat-treatment of high temperature and high humidity reduced the required heating time. Lower humidity levels at same temperature reduced energy consumption per unit time. However, lower humidity levels could not reduce total energy consumption greatly because longer treatment time was required at that condition. It is necessary to estimate energy consumption and predict treatment time in dynamic heating and cooling situations, because it frequently happens not to meet optimum treatment condition due to poor surrounding climates and operation performance of heat treatment facility in real field.

• International Journal of Industrial Entomology and Biomaterials
• /
• v.31 no.2
• /
• pp.103-106
• /
• 2015

The oriental tobacco budworm, Helicoverpa assulta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), is classified as a quarantine pest that must be controlled for the exportation of Korean paprika to the USA. We performed a confirmatory test of gamma irradiation against the last-instar larvae and pupae of H. assulta in paprika. Previous, small-scale gamma irradiation at a dose of 100 Gy to the last-instar larvae allowed emergence of adults, though they were abnormal, but 200 Gy prevented adult emergence completely. For pupae, irradiation of 5- to 6-day-old pupae with 300 Gy prevented normal emergence completely. To gather confirmatory data applicable to phytosanitary quarantine regulations, larvae and pupae were placed inside paprika in a box and were irradiated with 200 Gy and 300 Gy, respectively. After irradiation with 200 Gy (measured doses 170-199 Gy) of 2,186 individuals of the last-instar larvae, 10.84% survived, but either formed abnormal pupae (7.57%) or died during the pupal stage (3.27%), resulting in no emergence of normal adults. For pupae, the dose of 300 Gy (measured doses 276-319 Gy) given to 1,200 pupae allowed 10.75% to survive and 9.17% to emerge with deformity. However, 1.58% of irradiated pupae emerged normally, requiring an increased dose for complete prevention of normal emergence. Subsequently, an increased dose of 400 Gy (measured doses 340-402 Gy) to 1,005 pupae allowed 88.35% to emerge, but all emerged with deformity. Thus, irradiation treatment with a minimum dose of 400 Gy will provide quarantine security for all premature H. assulta in exported paprika.

• Research in Plant Disease
• /
• v.21 no.3
• /
• pp.193-200
• /
• 2015

Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea is one of the most important postharvest fungal pathogens of cut flowers. Here, gamma irradiation, an alternative for phytosanitary purposes, and sodium dichloroisocyanurate (NaDCC) were used to control B. cinerea in a cut chrysanthemum (Chrysanthemum morifolium Ramat.) cultivar, 'Baekma', one of the cultivars susceptible to B. cinerea. Spore germination and mycelium growth of B. cinerea were inhibited by gamma irradiation in an inversely dose-dependent manner. A dose of 4 kGy completely inhibited the mycelium growth of B. cinerea. A significant change in flower quality (physical properties) on chrysanthemum was shown from gamma irradiation at over 0.2 kGy (p<0.05). Therefore, in this study, the integration of gamma ray (below 0.2 kGy) and NaDCC, an eco-friendly form of chlorine, was investigated to control the disease with low dose of gamma irradiation dose. Interestingly, the gamma irradiated flowers showed more disease severity than the non-irradiated flowers. The combined treatment of gamma irradiation and NaDCC does not affect the severity of the fungal disease, whereas only 70 ppm of NaDCC treatment showed a significantly reduced severity. These results suggest that only chlorination treatment can be applied to control B. cinerea in cut chrysanthemum flowers.

• Weed & Turfgrass Science
• /
• v.5 no.1
• /
• pp.10-16
• /
• 2016

Proper actions such as discard, return or manufacturing should be taken to imported plants contaminated with quarantine weeds. Heat-treatment has been used as a processing method in many countries such as U.S., Australia, Canada as well as Korea. This study was carried to find appropriate heat-treatment methods for devitalizing dodder seeds mixed with plant seeds. Two species of dodder seeds and six imported seeds were treated for 1, 5, 10, 15, 30, 45 minutes or 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8 hours at the temperatures of $75^{\circ}C$, $80^{\circ}C$, $85^{\circ}C$, $90^{\circ}C$, $95^{\circ}C$, $100^{\circ}C$ and $120^{\circ}C$. According to the study, dodder seeds were devitalized at the conditions of $85^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours, $90^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes, $95^{\circ}C$ and $100^{\circ}C$ for 15 minutes, $110^{\circ}C$ for 10 minutes and $120^{\circ}C$ for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, seed vigours of Cosmos bipinnatus and Callistephus chinensis had no difference when compared with untreated control at the heat-treatment conditions of $85^{\circ}C$ for 2 hours, $90^{\circ}C$ for 30 minutes.

• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.49 no.1
• /
• pp.37-42
• /
• 2010

As an environment-friendly phytosanitary measure, CATTS (controlled atmosphere temperature treatment system) has been developed to kill several quarantine insect pests infesting subtropical agricultural commodities. This study tested any possibility to apply CATTS to apples to effectively eliminate the peach fruit moth, Carposina sasakii, which has been regarded as a quarantine insect from the imported countries. When the larvae of C. sasakii were directly exposed to $46^{\circ}C$ (an installed lethal temperature of CATTS), they showed a median lethal time at 14.66 min. Addition of high carbon dioxide to the temperature treatment enhanced the thermal limit susceptibility of C. sasakii to $46^{\circ}C$. CATTS device was constructed to automatically control $CO_2$ concentration and temperature with real-time monitoring both in the chamber and in the fruit. The larvae internally infesting apples were tested using the CATTS device and showed 100% lethality after 60 min exposure to a treatment of $46^{\circ}C$ under 15% $CO_2$ in the chamber. Relatively long exposure may be due to the deviation between the ramping temperature ($0.35^{\circ}C$/min) of the chamber and the ramping temperature (0.12-$0.23^{\circ}C$/min) inside apple fruit, where the tested larvae were located. This study suggests a possibility that CATTS can be applied as a quarantine measure to kill the larvae of C. sasakii locating inside the apples.