Omid Mirzabegi Kesbi - University of Tehran, Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Daneshkadeh Ave., Karaj, Iran, Postal Code: ۷۷۸۷۱-۳۱۵۸۷
Ali Rajabipour - University of Tehran, Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Daneshkadeh Ave., Karaj, Iran, Postal Code: ۷۷۸۷۱-۳۱۵۸۷
Mahmoud Omid - University of Tehran, Department of Agricultural Machinery Engineering, Daneshkadeh Ave., Karaj, Iran, Postal Code: ۷۷۸۷۱-۳۱۵۸۷
Seyed Hossein Goldansaz - University of Tehran, Department of Plant Protection, Daneshkadeh Ave., Karaj, Iran, Postal Code: ۷۷۸۷۱-۳۱۵۸۷

Purpose: In some orchards in the harvest season, the pomegranates are suspected to carob moth infestation. Visible infested fruits are removed but there is a possibility of hidden infestation. The effect of microwave heating on this hidden infestation was investigated in this study. Research Method: The mature pomegranate fruits were artificially infested with the eggs or larvae (۱st, ۲nd and ۳rd) of the carob moth inside the crown. Microwave radiation was focused on the crown zone of infested pomegranate with a novel setup and its effect on pest mortality was studied. The experiments were carried out at three microwave powers (۵۴۰, ۷۲۰ and ۹۰۰ W) and three heating times (۴, ۶ and ۸ minutes). In order to study the effect of microwave heating treatments on pomegranate, quality parameters including appearance, weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), pH, titratable acidity (TA) and taste index (TSS/TA) of the samples were investigated after ۶۰ days’ storage. Findings: The egg and larval mortality rose with microwave power and heating time. The mortality was reduced with increasing the age of pest. There were no significant differences among values of quality factors except for titratable acidity. Because of ۱۰۰% mortality with no significant differences on quality parameters, ۶ min treatment time with ۷۲۰ microwave power was selected as the optimum treatment. Research limitations: Energy consumption in microwave heating limits the application of this method in practice. Originality/Value: Microwave local heating of the pomegranate crown is an effective novel method to remove carob moth in hidden infestation.

Carob moth, Microwave heating, Pomegranate, Postharvest, storage