Ultralow oxygen treatment for postharvest control of Nasonovia ribisnigri (Homoptera: Aphididae) on iceberg lettuce

Abstract

The aphid Nasonovia ribisnigri (Mosley) is a common pest of lettuce in the United States. It hinders export of U.S. lettuce to the overseas market such as Japan where it is a quarantined pest. Ultralow oxygen treatments were studied for control of the insect on iceberg lettuce. Small-scale ultralow oxygen treatments in plastic jars were conducted at 1, 5, and 10°C for different durations to determine effective treatment against nymphs and alates of N. ribisnigri. At oxygen levels of 0.015-0.025%, N. ribisnigri can be controlled in 3 d at 1°C, 2 d at 5°C, and 1 d at 10°C. Large-scale ultralow oxygen treatments were conducted in bulk container treatment chambers with commercial iceberg lettuce heads for 2 d at 6°C with oxygen levels of 0.015 and 0.025% and for 3 d at 3°C with oxygen level of 0.015%. All treatments achieved complete control of N. ribisnigri. No negative impact on lettuce quality was detected after 2 wk of posttreatment storage. Therefore, the selected treatments have potential to be commercially developed for postharvest control of N. ribisnigri on iceberg lettuce.