The occurrence of post harvest disturbances in peaches (Prunus persicae) is an important cause of product depreciation during its commercialization. The objectives of this paper were to quantify and characterize the post harvest damage in peaches at CEAGESP, the biggest wholesale market in the State of São Paulo. The incidence of damages was assessed at 1% of commercialized fruits in CEAGESP, at each evaluation date during the periods of October 2001 to January 2002 and October 2002 to January 2003. The sampling was stratified on the basis of peach variety. All fruits of the sample were evaluated at CEAGESP for quantification of biotic and abiotic damages. Fruits showing initial rotting without any pathogen signs were incubated for 48 h in a moist chamber and then causal agents were identified. On average, 1835 fruits were sampled in each evaluation. The post harvest damage ranges from 4.9 to 44.5% of the sampled fruits. Damage due to diseases varied from 2.4 to 15.2%. Fungi from the genera Rhizopus, Monilinia, Geotrichum, Cladosporium, Fusarium and Alternaria were detected besides bacteria and yeast-like fungi. Yeasts were found at all sampling dates in significant amounts (up to 46%) in the fruits which showed rot associated with wounds. There was no difference in susceptibility among the most commercialized varieties. There was also no difference in damage among fruits kept in different types of containers. The level of damage was related only to the provenance of the fruit.
post harvest diseases; Monilia; Rhizopus; Prunus persicae
