Bee Propolis as a Biological Alternative to Control Fungi in Lemon Cultivation

Abstract

In this chapter, an alternative for damage control of lemon trees in the field and its monitoring until the post-harvest stage is presented, with the use of propolis extracts, applied by spraying to the trees and placed in biofilms in fruits after harvest. The objective of this work was to evaluate the biological effectiveness of ethanolic extracts of propolis from Scaptotrigona mexicana and Melipona beecheii under field conditions and in the post-harvest stage in Mexican lemon (Citrus aurantifolia) for the production and conservation of quality in the state of Chiapas, Mexico. A 70% decrease in foliar damage was found in the leaves of lemon trees, that the most resistant area of the leaf is the one attached to the petiole. The chitosan biofilms with propolis allowed the shelf life of the fruits to last 15 days, allowing the variables of color, weight loss, firmness, phenols, and flavonoids to be preserved in permissible ranges. The above allows us to propose propolis extracts as another alternative in phytosanitary management programs in the agricultural production of lemon crops.