Factors affecting quarantine heat treatment efficacy

Abstract

Heat quarantine treatments have been used for 70 years on a variety of fresh agricultural commodities and pests. Despite the high level of efficacy demanded of these treatments and the very low levels of infestation usually found in commodities traded across quarantine barriers, heat treatments have sometimes failed. Key differences between investigation and application which may affect treatment efficacy against the pest include method of assessing efficacy, genotype and most tolerant stage of the insect, affinity of the research setting to commercial reality, preconditioning of fruit, pre- and post-temperature regimes experienced by fruits in research versus commercial settings, and size of operation. Researchers must be cognizant of the differences between the research versus commercial setting, the practical restraints faced by industry, and the effect these contrasts could have on treatment efficacy. Published by Elsevier Science B.V.