Postharvest fumigation of fruits and vegetables is an important tool for managing pests and diseases that can cause devastating loss if not properly controlled. Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) may have promise as replacement for methyl bromide, which is expected to be phased out. However, SO₂ is known to cause injury to small fruit such as table grapes (Vitis vinifera L.). We extend previous research on SO₂ fumigation by focusing on an economically important fruit pest genus and through quantitative and qualitative measurements of highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum L.) fruit bleaching. This study assesses fruit damage due to SO₂ fumigation at concentrations ranging 0–2.2 % (v/v) as well as the effectiveness of SO₂ as a fumigant prior to cold storage for control of blueberry maggot, Rhagoletis mendax Curran. We show that fruit quality traits such as firmness, total soluble solid content, and titratable acidity are largely unaffected except at the highest SO₂ concentration (2.2 %). SO₂ caused bleaching and discoloration of blueberry fruit in a dose-dependent manner. Damage was also cultivar-dependent, with cv ‘Bluecrop’, and ‘Jersey’ more susceptible than ‘Draper’, ‘Elliott’, and ‘Liberty’. We show that R. mendax can be effectively controlled using a short-term (2 h), high concentration (22,000 μL L⁻¹) SO₂ fumigation followed by >14 d of cold storage at 0.5 °C. However, this treatment for control of R. mendax would likely result in damage, affecting fruit marketability.

水果和蔬菜的收获后熏蒸是处理有害生物和病害的重要工具，如果控制不当，这些有害生物和病害会造成毁灭性损失。二氧化硫（SO ₂）有望替代甲基溴，甲基溴有望逐步淘汰。然而，已知SO ₂会损害小果实，例如鲜食葡萄（Vitis vinifera L.）。我们通过关注经济上重要的水果害虫属以及对高灌木蓝莓（Vaccinium corymbosum L.）水果漂白的定量和定性测量，扩展了对SO ₂熏蒸的先前研究。这项研究评估了SO ₂对水果的损害浓度为0-2.2％（v / v）的熏蒸，以及在冷藏之前控制SO ₂作为熏蒸剂的有效性，以控制蓝莓mag（Rhagoletis mendax Curran）。我们表明，果实硬度，硬度，总可溶性固形物含量和可滴定酸度等品质特性在最高SO ₂浓度（2.2％）下基本不受影响。SO ₂以剂量依赖性方式引起蓝莓果实的漂白和变色。损害也取决于品种，简历“ Bluecrop”和“ Jersey”比“ Draper”，“ Elliott”和“ Liberty”更容易受到伤害。我们显示，可以使用短期（2 h），高浓度（22,000μLL ^-1）SO有效控制Mendax_2次熏蒸，然后在0.5°C下冷藏> 14 d。但是，这种控制薄荷的方法可能会导致损害，影响水果的适销性。