Top Spanish researcher works to improve fruit quality with NSW DPI

Professor LluĂ­s Palou is the Director of the Postharvest Technology Centre at the Instituto Valenciano de Investigaciones Agrarias (IVIA) in Valencia, Spain and is a world leader in the postharvest research for controlling citrus fruit decay.

At the Postharvest Workshop at the Citrus Technical Forum in Adelaide, Professor Palou discussed the major trends in citrus production and handling in Spain, where postharvest chemical use is becoming increasingly restricted. Citrus growers and packers in Spain have not been able to use the postharvest fungicide guazatine to control sour rot for many years, and now propiconazole is due to be phased out this season in Europe. This leaves Spanish producers with few options to control sour rot.

Professor Palou also outlined the current review of the commonly used fungicide, imazalil, which is currently underway in Europe.

Having fewer postharvest chemicals available and with many markets wanting fewer chemical residues, there is a growing research focus on ‘fungicide-free’ control of citrus postharvest decay. This was the topic of Professor Palou’s talk where he described the work being conducted in their research laboratories in Valencia.

Developing effective decay management strategies is critical for Australian citrus exports, where long-term shipping and storage occurs. Professor Palou outlined that the foundation for any developments in controlling postharvest decay is the knowledge of pre- and postharvest factors influencing the decay during storage and managing these factors at the right time.

He also discussed alternative approaches to conventional fungicides for controlling decay including:

  1. physical treatments (such as heat, gas (such as ozone) and UV)
  2. alternative low toxicity chemical controls (such as natural compounds and food additives)
  3. biological control methods (such as micro-organisms)
  4. combination of alternative methods (i.e. adding different treatments to get better decay control).

The commercial application and limitations of these alternative decay control methods were also discussed. A summary of these talks is available on the Citrus Australia website.

Professor Palou is also a collaborator in the Hort Innovation funded 'Australian Postharvest Science Project' (CT15010) and he followed his talks in Adelaide with a one-week working visit to NSW DPI’s Centre of Excellence for Horticulture Market Access at Ourimbah. This was excellent for developing stronger collaborative research programs.

In Australia, Professor Palou is helping develop practical treatments to control postharvest decay which will greatly benefit the Australian citrus industry to maintain fruit quality and market access.

Professor Palou’s travel and visit were supported by the 'Australian Postharvest Science Project' (CT15010) funded by Horticulture Innovation and NSW Department of Primary Industries. Levies from Australian citrus growers are managed by Horticulture Innovation and contributed to funding this project. The Australian Government provides matched funding for all Horticulture Innovation’s research and development activities.