Biological control of postharvest diseases of fruit

Abstract

Postharvest decay in harvested fruit causes considerable economical losses. Fungicides are the primary means to control these losses. Public concern in food safety and environmental issues and the increase of pathogen resistant populations have enhanced the interest in developing alternative methods to fungicides to control postharvest fruit decay. During the last two decades a huge information and advances concerning the selection of antagonists, mode of action, different approaches to enhance biocontrol activity, formulation and production have been achieved, and some biofungicides are already in the market. It is likely that several more products will enter the market in the near future, as the result of the biological control research programs worldwide. Nonetheless, it is necessary to continue finding new potential microorganisms, better understanding the mode of action, and pathogen, antagonist and host interactions, to increase the potential of biocontrol helping to become a real alternative to synthetic postharvest fungicides. This article presents an overview of postharvest biological control approaches and explores new research possibilities to improve biocontrol activity.

Conyza canadensis: Green Extraction Method of Bioactive Compounds and Evaluation of Their Antifungal Activity

“…5 This is due to increasing concerns regarding the environmental impacts of synthetic pesticides, as well as stricter controls on their use and the appearance of fungicide-resistant strains. 1,6 Given the importance of developing new biopesticides and investigating their spectra of action, a recent survey showed promising results with the allelopathic plant Conyza canadensis (L.) Cronquist, which belongs to the Asteraceae family and is popularly known as horseweed. 7 This plant is a potential source of bioactive compounds 8 and several studies have reported the fungitoxic effects of its essential oils, [9][10][11] although the compounds responsible for such activity were not identified.…”

Microbial Decontamination of Fresh Produce (Strawberry) Using Washing Solutions

“…In the industrialized countries, it is estimated that loss can be up to 25% of harvested fruits. The situation is far more exacerbating in the developing countries, where postharvest loss can be over 50% in some areas (Nunes, 2012). Fresh produce is decayed by pathogens during post harvesting and handling (Sharma et al, 2009).…”

Responses of Yeast Biocontrol Agents to Environmental Stress

“…The utilization of wild species and strains of antagonistic yeast species is recognized as one of the promising alternatives. Since Wilson and Wisniewski proposed the first principles and concepts of postharvest biocontrol (2, 3), numerous reviews have been published (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11). Research has focused on a wide variety of topics.…”