The horticulture industry and Wageningen UR are hopeful that a heat treatment under a specific air composition is a good method to combat quarantine insects and nematodes in fresh plant material. Quarantine pests are a crucial issue in international trade. There are few effective chemical disinfectants available. Use sometimes leads to trade restrictions. A potentially sustainable alternative method is a physical treatment; Controlled Atmosphere Temperature Treatment (CATT). In this method, plant material in a confined space is briefly subjected to elevated temperatures and a particular atmospheric composition.
Strawberry
This unique method is now applied to basic plant material of strawberry to fight strawberry mites. Exploratory research in 2012 and 2013 shows that the application of CATT technology in several crop-pest combinations offers perspective. For the Dutch horticultural sector, the CATT method might be a great opportunity to deliver produce free of unwanted organisms.
CATT
During the workshop, examples were given of crop-pest combinations possibly benefiting from CATT treatment. Further meetings will determine the validity of the treatment, as well as bringing it into practise.
Source: WageningenUR