The objective of this paper was to study the effect of essential oils (EOs) thymol and carvacrol applied in
citrus packing lines in combination with commercial wax on microbial spoilage, lemon decay and quality
parameters during postharvest storage and compared with control (tap water), wax and wax þ imazalil
as positive control. Results showed that the treatment with wax þ EOs was able to reduce yeast and
mould and total aerobe counts on lemon surface and decayed lemons after 8 weeks of storage, the efficacy
being similar to that obtained from wax þ imazalil treatment. In addition, lemons coated with EOs
or imazalil showed similar quality attributes (weight loss, softening and colour) retention compared with
control or waxed fruits.