Age of fruit at harvest influences incidence of fungal storage rots on fruit of Cucurbita maxima D. hybrid ‘Delica’

Abstract

Fruits of Cucurbita maxima hybrid ‘Delica’ harvested within a few days of completing expansion had fewer fungal storage rots than older fruits harvested either 2 or 4 weeks later. This result was consistent over three growing seasons and appeared to be independent of the harvest date. Although the age of fruit determined the susceptibility of fruit to rot, other factors, such as storage temperature, influenced both the rate and the amount of rot development. Within seasons, fruit from later-sown crops began rotting earlier and developed more rots than fruit from early-sown crops. There are implications for the export trade, and the present methods for timing harvests, based on visual criteria, need to be changed if fungal rots are to be reduced to consistently low levels.

Keywords:

• Cucurbitamaxima
• hybrid squash
• fungal storage rots
• time of harvest
• fruit age