Evaluation of the synergy between Schwanniomyces vanrijiae and propolis in the control of Penicillium digitatum on lemons

Abstract

Background Green mold disease on citrus caused by Penicillium digitatum is the most serious and destructive disease. It is causing 90% of production losses during post-harvest handling. Results In this study, the activity of seven yeast isolates from lemons against P. digitatum, a fungal pathogen that causes the green mold disease in lemons, was isolated and examined. In vitro experiments showed that isolate three significantly reduced pathogen growths and were later identified as Schwanniomyces vanrijiae. In addition, 3% ethanolic extracts of propolis (EEP) caused a strong mycelial growth inhibition with inhibition halos of 1.4 cm. The use of S. vanrijiae treatments to protect lemon fruits from green mold has been reported (55%); however, reports describing the application of EEP are limited (40%). Thus, the effectiveness of the combination of S. vanrijiae and 3% EEP in an antagonistic mixture for protecting lemon fruits from P. digitatum was examined. EEP and S. vanrijiae treatments were applied alone and in combination in both in vitro and in vivo conditions. The combined application of 3% EEP + S. vanrijiae on lemon fruits significantly reduced the severity and incidence of green mold (80 and 93.7%, respectively) with much higher efficacy than either treatment alone. Lemon fruits treated with both S. vanrijiae and 3% EEP showed increased levels of antioxidants, peroxidase (POD), polyphenol oxidase (PPO), and phenol than the untreated control. Conclusion The results indicated that the combination of S. vanrijiae + 3% EEP can strongly protect lemon fruits from green mold compared with the sole application of either bioagent.

Review on Propolis Applications in Food Preservation and Active Packaging

“…Moreover, no negative influence on the quality of Citrus fruit was reported [69]. Similar results were reported for propolis combined with S. vanrijiae [70]. Postharvest storage of several other Citrus species was also improved by propolis, such as mandarins [69] and oranges [71][72][73][74].…”

Pichia anomala Induced With Chitosan Triggers Defense Response of Table Grapes Against Post-harvest Blue Mold Disease

“…Several microorganisms (yeasts, bacteria, and fungi) have been reported for their potential to control post-harvest diseases in fruit and vegetables (Madbouly et al, 2020;Abo-Elyousr et al, 2021). Microorganisms isolated from the surface of fruits have applications due to the high survival rate on surfaces of fruits during treatment.…”

Chemical Structure and Antifungal Activity of Agean Region of Propolis in Türkiye

“…In recent years, the antifungal effect of propolis on different phytopathogenic fungi has been confirmed in many national and worldwide studies (Dinler et al, 2017;Pazin et al, 2019;Gregolin et al, 2019;Kim et al, 2019;Özyiğit, 2020;Abo-Elyousr et al, 2021).…”

“…There are many alternative control studies in which biological origin compounds such as medicinal plants, propolis and biocontrol agents inhibit the in vitro growth of plant pathogenic fungi (Davari and Ezazi, 2022). In recent years, many studies have proven the antimicrobial properties of propolis against bacterial and fungal pathogens (Curifuta et al, 2012;Pazin et al, 2019;Abo-Elyousr et al, 2021;Davari and Ezazi, 2022). Several methods such as biological control, use of aromatic oils, propolis, fungicides and other methods have been investigated to minimize crop losses caused by Fusarium genus and other soil-borne pathogens in cultivated crops (Erdoğan et al, 2014;Erdoğan et al, 2016;Koç et al, 2018, Er, 2021Çakar et al, 2022;Khalil et al, 2022).…”