Low‐pressure cold plasma pretreatment: Impact on quality attributes of “Fan Retief” guava and efficacy against <i>Colletotrichum gloeosporioides</i>

This work investigated the impact of low-pressure cold plasma (CP) as a pretreatment with polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic trays or open corrugated cardboard (OCC) boxes on the overall quality of "Fan Retief" guava fruits stored for 28 days at 13°C. Untreated samples placed in PET and OCC served as control. Guava fruits followed typical climacteric responses, but CP-treated samples significantly slowed down respiration (RRCO₂) and ethylene production rate during storage (p ≤ 0.05). On day 28, CP-treated samples retained the highest titratable acidity and total phenolics compared to untreated samples (p ≤ 0.05). Overall, CP pretreatment better maintained the relative abundance of characteristic volatile compounds for guava fruits during storage, effectively delayed decay incidence, and inhibited the growth of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides in vivo compared to control. PRACTICAL APPLICATION: This study demonstrated low-pressure cold plasma as a potential alternative phytosanitary tool for the postharvest handling of guava fruit.