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Staple crops face major challenges in the near future and a diversification away from over-reliance on staples will be important as part of the progress towards the goal of achieving security of food production. Underutilized or neglected crops species are often indigenous ancient crop species which are still used at some level within the local, national or even international communities, but have the potential to contribute further to the mix of food sources than they currently do. The most cost-effective and easily disseminated changes that can be made to a crop are changes to the genetics, as these are contained within the seed itself and, for many species, the seed is a pure breeding, self-replicating, resource. This article focuses on the potential of underutilized crops to contribute to food security and, in particular, whether genetics and breeding can overcome some of the constraints to the enhanced uptake of these species in the future. The focus here is on overview rather than detail and subsequent articles will examine the current evidence base.

Management of anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum spp. is the most important issue for the tropical fruit industry because of resulting financial losses. Antifungal effects of gum arabic (GA) (10%), lemongrass oil (LG) (0.05%), cinnamon oil (CM) (0.4%), and their combinations were investigated in vitro and in vivo for controlling postharvest anthracnose of banana and papaya. LG at 0.05% and 0.4% CM showed fungicidal effects against Colletotrichum musae and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, causal organisms of banana and papaya anthracnose, respectively. GA alone did not show any fungicidal effects while the combination of 0.05% LG and 0.4% CM with Ten percent GA alone showed more fungicidal effects. However, potato dextrose agar (PDA) medium modified with 10% GA combined with 0.4% CM showed the most promising results among all treatments against C. musae and C. gloeosporioides in suppressing the mycelial growth (73.4%) and (70.0%) and spore germination inhibition (88%) and (85%), respectively. In vivo studies also revealed that 10% GA combined with 0.4% CM was the optimal concentration in controlling decay (80%) and (71%), showing a synergistic effect in the reduction of C. musae and C. gloeosporioides, respectively, in artificially inoculated bananas and papayas. The results regarding quality evaluation also confirmed the efficacy of 10% GA combined with 0.4% CM coatings since ripening was significantly delayed, in terms of percentage weight loss, fruit firmness, soluble solids concentration and titratable acidity. The results suggest the possibility of using 10% gum arabic combined with 0.4% cinnamon oil as a biofungicide for controlling postharvest anthracnose in major tropical fruit such as banana and papaya.

The composite effects of gum arabic (GA) (5, 10, 15, and 20%) and chitosan (CH) (1.0%) on the biochemical and physiological characteristics of banana fruits stored at 13 ± 1 °C and 80 ± 3% relative humidity (RH) for 28 days and afterward for 5 days at simulated marketing conditions (25 °C, 60% RH) were investigated. Significant (P ≤ 0.05) differences were observed for the entire GA plus CH treatments as compared to the control. However, the results showed that after 33 days of storage, the weight loss and soluble solids concentration of fruits treated with 10% GA plus 1.0% CH composite coating were 24 and 54% lower, whereas fruit firmness, total carbohydrates, and reducing sugars were 31, 59, and 40% higher than the control, respectively. Furthermore, the composite edible coating of 10% GA plus 1.0% CH delayed color development and reduced the rate of respiration and ethylene evolution during storage as compared to the control. Similarly, sensory evaluation results also proved the effectiveness of 10% GA plus 1.0% CH composite coating by maintaining the overall quality of banana fruits. Consequently, the results of scanning electron microscopy also confirmed that the fruits coated with 10% GA plus 1.0% CH composite edible coating had very fewer cracks and showed a smooth surface. These findings suggest that 10% GA plus 1.0% CH as an edible composite coating can be used commercially for extending the storage life of banana fruits for up to 33 days.

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