2.4. Ethanol and potassium sorbate treatment of
table grapes
Two types of experiments were performed to evaluate
the efficacy of sublethal levels of ethanol alone or
in combination with potassium sorbate to control gray
mold of table grape. In the first type of experiment,
berries were cut from the rachis with pedicel intact.
The berries were then inoculated with a B. cinerea
(105 conidia/ml) spore suspension. A volume of 50 ml
of inoculum was sprayed on about 900 berries, which
were then dried in air for 30 min and then immersed
for 30 s in 10 and 20% (v/v) ethanol solutions alone
or in combination with 0.5 and 1.0% (w/v) potassium
sorbate. A volume of 1 l of each solution was used to
immerse 90 berries. After treatment, the single berries
were dried in air for 30 min and then placed on metal
racks in covered plastic boxes lined with moist paper
towels. The number of berries with gray mold was
counted after 10 days of incubation at 15 ◦C. The experimentwas
performed twice. Each replicate consisted of
30 single berries and three replicates were used for each
treatment.