Antifungal efficacy of botanicals against major postharvest pathogens of Kinnow mandarin and their use to maintain postharvest quality. (23rd May 2014)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Jhalegar, Md. Jameel; Sharma, Ram Roshan; Singh, Dinesh
• Is Part Of: Fruits. Volume 69:Number 3(2014)
• Page Start: 223
• Page End: 237
• Publication Date: 2014-05-23
• Subjects: Fruit-culture -- Periodicals; 634
• DOI: 10.1051/fruits/2014012
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0248-1294

Abstract

<abstract abstract-type="normal" xml:lang="en"> <title> <x content-type="archive" xml:space="preserve">Abstract</x> </title> <p> <bold>Introduction</bold>. Kinnow is an important citrus crop grown in India, which suffers from several postharvest diseases during storage. Hence, an attempt was made to combat such diseases with the botanicals <italic>Aloe vera</italic>, <italic>Eucalyptus</italic> and <italic>Ocimum</italic> on Kinnow mandarin to prolong its availability for a longer time. <bold>Materials and methods</bold>. For this, <italic>in vitro</italic> and <italic>in vivo</italic> studies were conducted. The poisoned food technique was used for <italic>in vitro</italic> studies, and, for <italic>in vivo</italic> studies, Kinnow fruit were pre-inoculated with pathogens (<italic>Penicillium digitatum</italic> and <italic>P. italicum</italic>), treated with different botanicals, then stored at (5 ± 1) °C temperature and 85–90% RH. <bold>Results and discussion</bold>. Our results indicated that all botanicals inhibited the growth (colony diameter) of both pathogens over untreated PDA plates, but the inhibition was the strongest by <italic>Aloe vera </italic>extracts. Similarly, under <italic>in vivo</italic> conditions, all botanicals influenced the decay incidence, decay loss, lesion diameter, respiration rate, ethylene evolution and physiological loss in weight, but <italic>Aloe vera </italic>was the most effective. All the botanicals were able to retain postharvest quality of Kinnow fruits without any adverse effect on quality parameters such as TSS, TA and ascorbic acid. Under <italic>in vivo</italic> conditions, the incidence of <italic>Penicillium italicum</italic> was higher than P. digitatum; however, it was the reverse under in vitro conditions. <bold>Conclusion</bold>. Thus, it is evident from our studies that botanicals have the potential to control green and blue mold without causing any injury or harmful effects on Kinnow mandarin; botanicals can be recommended as a safe method for extending its storage life while maintaining fruit quality at the same time.</p> </abstract>