Mango Anthracnose: Global Status and the Way Forward for Disease Management

Abstract

M ango (Mangifera indica L.) is an agroindustrial fruit crop that belongs to the family Anacardiaceae and it is believed to be the king of all fruits ranking 8 th position in terms of productivity globally. The mango is considered as most delicious fruit grown around the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It is a main component of the diet in most of the countries of the world (Mukherjee and Litz, 2009), and is considered an important fruit crop because of its high nutritional and medicinal value, it is a good source of vitamins such as carotene, thiamine, riboflavin and niacin (Archibald et al., 2003). It has been estimated that mango ranked 2 nd after citrus in terms of area under cultivation and production in Pakistan. According to a statistical report, Pakistan produces approximately Abstract | Mango anthracnose is the most ravaging biotic stress to the successful production of mango fruit across the globe. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides is an etiological agent of this disease that adversely affects the quality as well as quantity of produce. The occurrence of disease at pre-and postharvest conditions is a common phenomenon which is responsible for potential economic losses. It has been studied that the hot and humid climatic conditions are conducive for the outbreak of disease. Therefore, integrated management of mango anthracnose is essential. It has been estimated that approximately 25 to 30% loses in mango production are due to anthracnose and stem end rot. Previous investigations revealed that the disease incidence may reach up to 100% on fruits under humid conditions. Many management strategies such as chemical control, biocontrol, use of Phyto-extracts and nanotechnological approaches have been introduced to combat this disease. The synthetic fungicides are used to curb the disease incidence. Pathogen have developed resistance against various chemicals that are generally utilized to overcome this disease. Because of its antifungal potential against mango anthracnose, among these strategies, nanotechnology is a rapidly evolving discipline that is gaining the attention of researchers.