A Vacuum Alternative To Toxic Pesticides
Researchers at UC Davis have developed a technique for ridding harvested fruits and vegetables of insect pests and microorganisms, without the use of ozone-depleting chemicals like methyl bromide.
The technique, called Metabolic Stress Disinfection and Disinfestation (MSDD), suffocates pests by exposing them by alternating vacuum and pressurized carbon dioxide application.
This new pest control system is more reliable and cost-effective, and is also non-toxic to humans and safe for the environment. The process would be applied to pallets of fruits and vegetables to prevent damage during storage and shipping, and to avoid transporting potentially invasive insects from one country to another. A patent is pending on the technology, which was reported in the July 2006 issue of the Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture.
“All major fruits, including table grapes, citrus, apples, pears, bananas and kiwifruits, as well as vegetables and ornamental flowers, retain their quality when treated with this technology,” said Manuel Lagunas-Solar, a research chemist at UC Davis’ Crocker Nuclear Laboratory.
The process also has been shown to be effective in controlling spoilage and insect pests in dried fruits, grains and nuts. Soft-tissue fruits, such as raspberries and blackberries, are among the very few commodities that do not withstand the forces used in this method, he noted.
An added environmental benefit of the new procedure is that the carbon dioxide and ethanol used during the treatment are recovered and recycled.
Source: “New Process Sucks the Life out of Bugs, Replaces Methyl Bromide” University of California-Davis, News Service, 11 July 2006
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