This study was conducted to investigate the effect of free chlorine concentrations in wash water on Escherichia coli O157:H7 reduction, survival, and transference during washing of fresh-cut lettuce. The effectiveness of rewashing for inactivation of E. coli O157:H7 on newly cross-contaminated produce previously washed with solutions containing an insufficient amount of chlorine also was assess...

Currently, most fresh-cut processing facilities in the United States use chlorinated water or other sanitizer solutions for microbial reduction after lettuce is cut. Freshly cut lettuce releases significant amounts of organic matter that negatively impacts the effectiveness of chlorine or other sanitizers for microbial reduction. The objective of this study is to evaluate whether a sanitizer wa...

This study investigated the ability of five Salmonella enterica serovars to attach to and colonize intact and cut lettuce (Iceberg, Romaine) and cabbage surfaces. Biofilm formation and attachment of Salmonella serovars to intact and cut leaves were determined. Populations of loosely and strongly attached Salmonella were obtained to calculate the attachment strength (S(R)). Biofilm formation, as...

This study compared the efficacy of chlorine (20-200 ppm), acidic electrolyzed water (50 ppm chlorine, pH 2.6), acidified sodium chlorite (20-200 ppm chlorite ion concentration, Sanova), and aqueous chlorine dioxide (20-200 ppm chlorite ion concentration, TriNova) washes in reducing populations of Escherichia coli O157:H7 on artificially inoculated lettuce. Fresh-cut leaves of Romaine or Iceber...

Aphid species feeding on lettuce occupy distinct feeding sites: the lettuce aphid Nasonovia ribisnigri prefers to feed on heart leaves, whereas the potato aphid Macrosiphum euphorbiae feeds only on outer leaves. The aphid parasitoid Aphelinus abdominalis, known to be able to regulate M. euphorbiae on many crops, has recently been indicated as a promising biocontrol candidate also for use agains...

Chitin is a promising soil amendment for improving soil quality, plant growth, and plant resilience. The objectives of this study were twofold. First, to study the effect of chitin mixed in potting soil on lettuce growth and on the survival of two zoonotic bacterial pathogens, Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella enterica on the lettuce leaves. Second, to assess the related changes in the mi...

The effect of various household sanitizers including water, water acidified with white vinegar (1.5%), vinegar and lemon juice were evaluated for their effectiveness in reducing counts of Salmonella typhimurium on rocket and lettuce leaves. Treating rocket and lettuce samples with water containing 1.5% vinegar for 30 min or washing with water (at 28C) for 5 min showed negligible reduction in pa...

The effect of vacuum pre-cooling process on leaf lettuce was a complex process of heat and mass transfers. Based on the physical properties of leaf lettuce in vacuum pre-cooling process, an unsteady computation model was constructed to analyze the factors affecting vacuum pre-cooling. Some factors such as the pre-cooling temperature, pressure and quantity of the spray-applied water were verifie...

The aqueous extract from Carya cathayensis Sarg. exocarp was centrifuged, filtered, and separated into 11 elution fractions by X-5 macroporous resin chromatography. A phenolic compound, 4,8-dihydroxy-1-tetralone (4,8-DHT) was isolated from the fractions with the strongest phytotoxicity by bioassy-guided fractionation, and investigated for phytotoxicity on lettuce (Latuca sativa L.), radish (Rap...

Mieslerová B., Lebeda A., Petrželová I., Korbelová P. (2013): Incidence of lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) and powdery mildew (Golovinomyces cichoracearum) in natural populations of prickly lettuce (Lactuca serriola). Plant Protect. Sci., 39 (Special Issue): S24–S32. The study was focused on the wild pathosystem Lactuca serriola–lettuce downy mildew (Bremia lactucae) and lettuce powdery ...