Challenges in Postharvest Management of Fungal Diseases in Fruits and Vegetables: A Review

Abstract

After the fruits and vegetables are harvested, the value of fruits and vegetables is added in successive stages and remain in living phase. Losses due to postharvest disease may occur at any time during postharvest handling. The aim of postharvest management of diseases is to maximise the quality and storage value. The postharvest products are living and respiring materials, and from field to eating, several factors influence quality and there are many fungal and bacterial pathogens which affect them. The quality of these delicate products peaks at harvest when they are green and crisp, but during handling and storage their quality attributes may be deteriorated, resulting in products of inferior quality when they reach the consumers. Important genera of anamorphic postharvest pathogens include Penicillium, Aspergillus, Geotrichum, Botrytis, Fusarium, Alternaria, Colletotrichum, Dothiorella, Lasiodiplodia and Phomopsis. Some of these fungi also form ascomycete sexual stages. There should be integrated approaches to management the postharvest diseases to reduce the qualitative and quantitative loss of vegetables and fruits as fresh and during storage.

The Incorporation of Amplified Metal-Enhanced Fluorescence in a CMOS-Based Biosensor Increased the Detection Sensitivity of a DNA Marker of the Pathogenic Fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides

“…Various genera of pathogenic fungi may cause decay in harvested fresh produce [ 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The fungi usually remain quiescent in immature fruit and only switch to their pathogenic state after ripening.…”

Actividad esporicida de la solución electrolizada con ph neutro en hongos de importancia postcosecha

“…Debido a lo anterior, en los últimos años se han explorado métodos alternativos para el manejo de enfermedades postcosecha de bajo impacto ambiental y en la salud humana (Sharma et al, 2009;Liu et al, 2013;Rahul et al, 2015). La industria de los alimentos ha empleado numerosas técnicas para la eliminación de patógenos en cada una de las cadenas de la producción de alimentos.…”

“…Due to the above, in the last years alternative methods have been explored for the management of postharvest diseases of low environmental impact and in human health (Sharma et al, 2009;Liu et al, 2013;Rahul et al, 2015). The food industry has employed numerous techniques for the elimination of pathogens in each of the food production chains.…”

Biological Activity of <i>Syzygium aromaticum</i> and <i>Ravensara aromatica</i> Essential Oils from Madagascar and Their Possible Use against Postharvest Mango Anthracnose

“…One of the biggest challenges for the mango market is to protect stored fruit against anthracnose development. Postharvest anthracnose is a disease caused by phytopathogenic fungi included in the Colletotrichum genera that reduces mango fruit marketability, storability and nutritional value [6]. Current treatments combine one to multiple methods to overcome postharvest loss caused by phytopathogenic fungi: copper sprays can be applied at the preharvest stage, hot water treatment that is for use before storage; carbendazim treatment is used during storage, whereas prochloraz and benomyl are used as postharvest treatments [7].…”