Fallik, E., ARO - The Volcani Center, Dept. Postharvest Sci. Fresh Produce, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Polevaya, Y., ARO - The Volcani Center, Dept. Postharvest Sci. Fresh Produce, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Tuvia-Alkalai, S., ARO - The Volcani Center, Dept. Postharvest Sci. Fresh Produce, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Shalom, Y., ARO - The Volcani Center, Dept. Postharvest Sci. Fresh Produce, Bet Dagan 50250, Israel
Zuckermann, H., Dept. of Exact and Life Sciences, Open University of Israel, Jerusalem 9I904, Israel

A short-term anoxia treatment for 24 h significantly reduced rot development in tomato fruit artificially inoculated with Botrytis cinerea compared with control fruit. In fruit treated for 48 h, anoxia significantly inhibited rot development compared with the control, during the first 4 days of the experiment, but the rate of rot development was accelerated from day 6 onward. After 8 days incubation at 20°C, there were no changes in fruit physical or sensory quality that could be attributed to the 24-h anoxia treatment. However, a 48-h anoxia treatment reduced fruit quality, damaged the fruit and caused off-flavour. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.