>From the February 1998 issue of "Tropical Fruit News", 32(2), pg. 11
(published by Rare Fruit Council International), the article,
"Heated Air Blasts Papaya Pests", by Marcia Wood.

A new quarantine method is now approved for heat treatment of Hawaiian
papayas, to kill fruit fly larvae. From the article:

"At the packing house, papayas are placed in a chamber typically made of
stainless steel. Hot air, forced over the surface of the fruit for at least
four hours, heats it to 117 deg F then the fruit is cooled for about an
hour."

The other two approved quarantine techniques are irradiation (not in
use in Hawaii at present) and vapor heat.

By the way, the fruit may be picked immature, so that it can withstand
the heat treatment.

The companion article, "What Works in Hawaii is Also Good in Texas", by
Ben Hardin (also pg. 11) used a similar treatment on Texas citrus:

"They killed the insects by heating fruit until their centers reached
113 deg F for at least 110 minutes...[they] combined hot-forced-air
with another technology - controlled atmosphere. They heated fruit with
air containing only 1 percent oxygen, compared to the 21 percent in
normal air".

Note - both articles are reprints from "Agricultural Research", Feb 1998.

Some readers may wonder: if I buy organic fruit, will it be similarly
treated? The answer is yes; if the fruit is shipped to your area from Hawaii,
it must (by law) be treated for fruit fly larvae. Organic fruit is not
exempt from fumigation requirements.

Regards,
Tom Billings
[log in to unmask]