A new technology called the Controlled Atmosphere/Temperature Treatment System (CATTS) may be applied in packinghouses or plant quarantine facilities.
The technology, developed by scientists at the USDA Agricultural Research Service (ARS), CATTS is a pesticide-free technology that kills codling moths, oriental fruit moth and certain other insects with a lethal combination of rising temperatures and mixtures of low oxygen and high carbon dioxide.
ARS entomologist Lisa Neven envisions, according to a report by the ARS, using the technology as a post-harvest treatment for apples, peaches, pears, cherries and nectarines destined for export to foreign markets.
Methyl bromide fumigation is a chief means of disinfecting such fruit, but the chemical is expensive, costing around $10 a pound, and its use is heavily regulated due to environmental safety and other concerns.
In tests CATTS kills 100 per cent of codling moth larvae infesting apples, sweet cherries, peaches and nectarines without significantly affecting the fruits' appearance, texture, taste and aroma.
Washington, California and Florida produce most of America's $9 billion fruit crop, excluding citrus. California is the top fruit producer of the three states and leads the country in agricultural exports, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Economic Research Service.
The report notes that ensuring pest-free fruit is vital to international trade. Otherwise, an importing country where a particular pest does not already occur may reject a fruit shipment or declare an all-out ban on further shipments.
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