Postharvest application of gum arabic and essential oils for controlling anthracnose and quality of banana and papaya during cold storage

Abstract

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.

Gum Ghatti Based Edible Coating Emulsion with an Additive of Clove Oil Improves the Storage Life and Maintains the Quality of Papaya (Carica papaya L., cv. Madhu bindu)

“…All the coating emulsions tested under the current study significantly reduced the weight loss as compared to the controls. Similar results were observed in tomato fruits treated with gum arabic coatings (Ali et al, 2010) and papaya fruits with chitosan coating (Maqbool et al, 2011). The positive effect of chitosan coating on a storage life of fruits could due to the modifying the internal atmosphere of fruits.…”

Influence of Edible Coatings on Biochemical Fruit Quality and Storage Life of Bell Pepper cv. “Yolo Wonder”

“…Our findings are in accordance with Al-Juhaimi et al [45] who reported that cucumber fruit coated with 20% gum arabic solution notably maintained firmness by acting as a barrier against nutrients and water loss. In another study, Maqbool et al [29] reported that banana fruit coated with gum arabic combined with chitosan efficiently maintained higher firmness during cold storage.…”

“…It contains antioxidative properties which are mostly derived from phenolic contents [27]. Previously, cinnamon oil in combination with chitosan reduced decay percentage in sweet peppers [28], whereas combined application of cinnamon oil with gum arabic on papaya and banana fruit showed promising control of diseases like anthracnose [29]. Cinnamon oil incorporated with carnauba wax effectively controlled postharvest green and blue mold in citrus fruit [30], whereas cinnamon oil combined with chitosan coating preserved jujube fruit quality under low temperature storage [31].…”

Effects of antifungal activity of essential oils, salts and antioxidants acids on pathogenic fungi and their application methods for controlling postharvest diseases in banana fruits

“…Recently, essential oils, antioxidants, organic and inorganic salts were used as fungicidal alternatives, that is, basil oil (Ocimum basilicum), cinnamon oil (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) and clove oil (Cymbopogon nardus). Low concentrations of essential oils were used against banana crown rot disease and their fungal pathogens; they were also used to maintain quality during storage (Ranasinghe et al, 2002;Anthony et al, 2003Anthony et al, , 2004Maqbool et al, 2010Maqbool et al, , 2011Abd-Alla et al, 2014). Salts, that is, potassium sorbate, calcium propionate, sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, and ammonium bicarbonate reduced crown rot incidence of banana fruits (Dionisio and Kobayashi, 2004).…”

“…Anthony et al (2004) and Maqbool et al (2010) found that cinnamon oil suppressed mycelial growth and inhibited conidial germination (83.2%) of C. musae. Maqbool et al (2011) reported that lemon grass at 0.05 and 0.4% had fungicidal activity against C. musae and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, the causal organisms of banana and papaya anthracnose diseases, respectively. Abd-Alla et al (2014) found that cinnamon, thyme oils completely inhibited 100% mycelium growth and conidial germination of F. semitectum, the cause of crown rot of banana fruits.…”