Information Package / Course Catalogue
Warehouse Diseases and Pests
Course Code: BKR106
Course Type: Required
Couse Group: Short Cycle (Associate's Degree)
Education Language: Turkish
Work Placement: Students are required, as part of the course "İMEU201 – Workplace Vocational Training" (30 ECTS) offered in the fourth semester, to undertake and successfully complete workplace vocational training for a minimum of 70 working days at enterprises designated in accordance with the provisions of the Aydın Adnan Menderes University Directive on Workplace Vocational Training.
Theory: 3
Prt.: 0
Credit: 3
Lab: 0
ECTS: 3
Objectives of the Course

The aim of this course is to provide students with the ability to identify diseases and pests encountered during post-harvest storage of agricultural products, understand their biology, and learn control methods. Throughout the course, pre-storage treatments, different storage systems (cold storage, controlled atmosphere, modified atmosphere), storage diseases (fungal and bacterial agents in citrus, pome/stone fruits and berries), stored product pests (insects) and cultural, physical, biological, chemical and integrated control strategies will be covered, aiming to equip students with the knowledge and skills to minimize product losses during storage.

Course Content

The course covers: definition, importance and post-harvest losses of storage; packing house operations (washing, sorting, grading, peeling, cutting etc.); naturally cooled stores, cold stores, controlled atmosphere (CA) and modified atmosphere packaging (MAP); respiration and transpiration physiology; factors affecting storage disease development and penetration routes; storage diseases in citrus (green mold, blue mold, sour rot, anthracnose, brown rot etc.), pome/stone fruits (Penicillium, Botrytis, Alternaria, Monilinia, Rhizopus, bitter pit, superficial scald etc.) and berries (Rhizopus, Botrytis, Sclerotinia, Phytophthora); stored product pests (insects of orders Thysanura, Orthoptera, Blattodea, Psocoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera); cultural, mechanical, physical, biological, legal and chemical control methods (empty store disinfection, protective treatment, fumigation) against pests.

Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes
1.Explains the definition, purposes and causes of post-harvest losses of storage.
2.Analyzes pre-storage treatments (washing, sorting, grading, peeling, etc.) and their effects on product quality.
3.Compares different storage methods (naturally cooled, cold storage, controlled atmosphere, modified atmosphere) and evaluates their advantages and limitations.
4.Distinguishes penetration routes, infection conditions of storage disease agents (fungi, bacteria) and major disease symptoms in fruit-vegetable groups (citrus, pome-stone fruits, berries).
5.Classifies stored product pest insect orders (Thysanura, Orthoptera, Blattodea, Psocoptera, Lepidoptera, Coleoptera) and their biology, damage types and identification.
6.Compares cultural, mechanical, physical, biological, legal and chemical control methods against stored product diseases and pests, and develops an integrated management approach.
Recommended or Required Reading
1.Course notes of Lecturers
2.Presentations and Lecture Notes Compiled From Different Sources
3.Depolanmış ürün Zararlıları (Prof. Dr Erol YILDIRIM, Prof. Dr. Hikmet ÖZBEK, Prof. Dr. İrfan ARSLAN).
4.Zirai Mücadele Teknik Talimatları (Dr. Mete AYDEMİR)
Weekly Detailed Course Contents
Week 1 - Theoretical
Introduction to Storage: Definition, importance, post-harvest losses, reasons for storage
Week 2 - Theoretical
Post-harvest Pre-treatments: Packing house operations, washing, sorting, grading, de-stemming, pit removal, peeling, cutting
Week 3 - Theoretical
Naturally Cooled (Ordinary) Stores: Tuff caves (Nevşehir), ventilation, humidity control, limitations
Week 4 - Theoretical
Thermomechanical Cooling (Cold Storage): Cooling principles, temperature and humidity settings, air circulation
Week 5 - Theoretical
Controlled Atmosphere (CA) Storage: O² and CO² adjustments, effects on respiration rate, apple-pear applications
Week 6 - Theoretical
Modified Atmosphere Packaging (MAP): Gas mixtures (O², CO², N²), packaging materials, advantages, consumer packages
Week 7 - Theoretical
Respiration and Transpiration: Respiration rate, influencing factors (temperature, ethylene, O²/CO²), transpiration mechanism and water loss
Week 8 - Theoretical
Factors Affecting Storage Disease Development: Penetration routes (field, wounds, stomata, lenticels, contact), environmental factors (temperature, humidity, air movement)
Week 9 - Theoretical
Storage Diseases in Citrus – I: Green mold (Penicillium digitatum), Blue mold (P. italicum), Sour rot (Geotrichum candidum) – Description, life cycle, control
Week 10 - Theoretical
Storage Diseases in Citrus II: Anthracnose (Colletotrichum gloeosporioides), Brown rot (Phytophthora spp.), Stem-end rot (Diplodia, Diaporthe, Alternaria), Brown spot (Alternaria alternata, A. citri), Aspergillus rot
Week 11 - Theoretical
Storage Diseases in Pome and Stone Fruits: Apple-pear (Blue mold Penicillium expansum, Bitter rot Glomerella cingulata, Botrytis rot, Alternaria rot, Black rot, Bitter pit, Superficial scald, Chilling injury); Peach-apricot (Brown rot Monilinia, Rhizopus, Mucor)
Week 12 - Theoretical
Storage Diseases in Berries: Strawberry, raspberry, blackberry, grape – Rhizopus, Botrytis (Gray mold), Sclerotinia, Phytophthora, Penicillium, Mucor, Aspergillus; harvesting and storage rules
Week 13 - Theoretical
Stored Product Pests (Insects): Identification, Biology and Damage: Orders Thysanura (Lepisma, Thermobia), Orthoptera (Acheta domesticus), Blattodea (cockroaches), Psocoptera (booklice), Lepidoptera (Pyralidae, Galleriidae, Tineidae, Gelechiidae – Ephestia, Plodia, Sitotroga, Phthorimaea)
Week 14 - Theoretical
Stored Product Pests (Insects): Coleoptera (Dermestidae, Anobiidae, Bostrichidae, Silvanidae, Cucujidae, Tenebrionidae, Bruchidae) and Control Methods: Cultural, mechanical, physical, biological, legal, chemical (empty store spraying, protective, fumigation
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Type of AssessmentCountPercent
Assignment1%10
Quiz1%10
Midterm Examination1%20
Final Examination1%60
Workload Calculation
ActivitiesCountPreparationTimeTotal Work Load (hours)
Lecture - Theory140342
Lecture - Practice1202
Assignment1516
Quiz1314
Midterm Examination19110
Final Examination110111
TOTAL WORKLOAD (hours)75
Contribution of Learning Outcomes to Programme Outcomes
PÇ-1
PÇ-2
PÇ-3
PÇ-4
PÇ-5
PÇ-6
PÇ-7
PÇ-8
PÇ-9
PÇ-10
OÇ-1
3
3
4
2
5
5
2
3
1
3
OÇ-2
3
2
2
2
1
5
1
3
1
2
OÇ-3
3
4
3
3
2
5
2
4
2
3
OÇ-4
5
4
5
3
2
5
2
3
1
3
OÇ-5
4
4
5
2
2
5
2
3
1
3
OÇ-6
5
5
5
4
3
5
3
4
2
5
Adnan Menderes University - Information Package / Course Catalogue
2026