PENGARUH PERLAKUAN JANGKA PENDEK CO2 TINGGI TERHADAP MASA SIMPAN DAN PERKEMBANGAN BOTRYTIS CINEREA PADA BUAH STRAWBERRY

The Effect of Short-Term High CO2 Treatment on Shelf Life and Development of Botrytis cinerea in Strawberry Fruit

Abstrak

Strawberries (Fragaria × ananassa) are fruits with high nutritional content and significant economic value. However, postharvest handling of strawberries is a major challenge due to their perishable nature and susceptibility to the pathogen Botrytis cinerea, which causes grey mould disease. One practical approach to extend shelf life and reduce damage caused by pathogens is applying carbon dioxide (CO₂) treatment. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of CO₂ treatment on the shelf life and the development of B. cinerea in strawberries. The research was conducted at Lembang, Bandung, with a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with five treatments: CO₂ 40 kPa exposure for 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes, and a control group without CO₂ treatment. The results showed that CO₂ treatment for 60, 90, and 120 minutes effectively extended the shelf life of the fruit, inhibited the growth of B. cinerea for up to 5 days, and reduced fruit decay by 35–55% on the 14th day of storage compared to the control. CO₂ treatments of 60, 90, and 120 minutes showed no significant differences, indicating that more prolonged CO₂ exposure did not provide additional benefits.This treatments showed that Short-term High CO2 could not affect to the level sweetness of the fruit. This study suggests that CO₂ treatment is an effective strategy for maintaining strawberry quality and reducing postharvest losses.