Phosphine Fumigation Followed by Cold Treatment to Control Peach Fruit Moth, _Carposina sasakii_, Larvae on \"Fuji\" Apples Intended for Export  
[PERSON]  
1 Plant Quarantine Technology Center, Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency (APQA), Gimcheon 39660, Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
2 Department of Plant Medicine, Sunchon National University, 255 Jungang-ro, Suncheon 57922, Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
2 Department of Plant Medicine, Sunchon National University, 255 Jungang-ro, Suncheon 57922, Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS]  
[PERSON]  
3 Institute for Evaluation of Safety and Quality of Agricultural Products, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (T.-H.K.); [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.-H.L.)  
[PERSON]  
4 School of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea; [EMAIL_ADDRESS] (B.-H.L.)  
[PERSON]  
5 Department of Applied Biosciences, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea 55 Department of Integrative Biology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea 55 Department of Integrative Biology, Kyungpook National University, Daegu 41566, Korea 55 Correspondence: [EMAIL_ADDRESS]; Tel.: +82-53-950-7768  
apples by softening the fruit and altering its flavor. Such effects are dependent on the apple variety and concentration of MeBr used [4]. Previous research has examined alternatives to MeBr fumigation, such as the Controlled Atmosphere Temperature Treatment System [5], ionizing radiation [1], and infrared irradiation [6]. Cold treatment can also be applied to apples as it helps control pests and extend the fruit shelf life; however, this can be a lengthy treatment depending on the target pest, developmental stage of the insect, and the potential for negative chilling injury [7]. Chemical fumigation with ethyl formate has been shown to be useful for disinfestation of the Eucalyptus weevil (_Gonipterus platensis_ Marelli), which is a \"hitchhiking\" pest on export apples in Australia [8]. In addition, phosphine (PH3) is known to be one of the most economic and convenient fumigants for insect pest control in grain stored in silos [9]. Therefore, fumigation with gaseous PH3 is a practical alternative to MeBr when applied to perishable commodities such as fruits and nursery plants [10; 11]. However, the use of PH3 has some limitations. For instance, the fumigation period can be high (>24 h), depending on the temperature and target pest [11]. At lower temperatures, PH3 fumigation must be conducted for longer periods to control the larvae of coding moths (_Cydia pomonella_ L.) and peach fruit moths [12; 13]. In an attempt to increase toxicity, to control the larval stage at a low application temperature, and to reduce fumigation time, PH3 has been applied under O2-rich atmospheric conditions (>60%), which reportedly affected the light brown apple moth (_Epiphyas postvittan_ [PERSON]) [14].  
In terms of practical fumigation and market access, the application of PH3 gas represents a simpler method compared with the currently recommended use of MeBr. Additionally, PH3 gas should not markedly affect the quality of export apples, and it could be applied in conjunction with current postharvest treatments used to extend the shelf life in postharvest apples. Chemical treatments, such as treatment with 1-methylcyclopropene (1-MCP), can inhibit ethylene synthesis with or without cold treatments and are widely used on apple varieties postharvest [15]. Herein, we evaluated the efficacy of PH3 gas as an alternative to current MeBr application for the eradication of _C. sasakii_ larvae. PH3 was applied at high (25 \(\pm\) 1 \({}^{\circ}\)C) and low (5 \(\pm\) 1 \({}^{\circ}\)C) temperatures, which was followed by 2 or 4 weeks of cold treatment (3 \(\pm\) 2 \({}^{\circ}\)C) and the subsequent assessment of Fuji apple quality parameters.