Moist heat treatments of strawberries are studied

Moist heat treatments have been used as an alternative to chemicals in the control of insects on strawberries. Chandler strawberries that were subjected to moist heat temperatures within the range of 99 115 degree F, for 20 100 min showed results indicating that fruits heated to 104 degree F for 30 min passed the marketability test. However, the amount of heat required for insect control exceeds the tolerance level of the fruit. Criteria such as fruit firmness, ethylene production, soluble solids content, pH, and decay were analyzed and tabulated. In general, heat-treated fruit were softer and less decayed and acidic than the control fruit, but differences between the two groups were slight.