Postharvest Decay

Control Strategies

Silvia Bautista-Baños

• Publisher: Academic Press
• Year: 2014
• Print ISBN: 9780124115521
• eBook ISBN: 9780124115682
• Topic: Technology & Engineering
• Subtopic: Food Science
• Index: Technology & Engineering

Written by a diverse group of research professionals, Postharvest Decay: Control Strategies is aimed at a wide audience, including researchers involved in the study of postharvest handling of agricultural commodities, and undergraduate and graduate students researching postharvest topics. Growers, managers, and operators working at packinghouses and storage, retail, and wholesale facilities can also benefit from this book. The information in this book covers a wide range of topics related to selected fungi, such as taxonomy, infection processes, economic importance, causes of infection, the influence of pre-harvest agronomic practices and the environment, the effect of handling operations, and the strategic controls for each host-pathogen, including traditional and non-traditional alternatives. - Includes eleven postharvest fungi causing serious rots in numerous fruits and vegetables - Offers selected microorganisms including pathogens of commercially important tropical, subtropical and temperate crops worldwide, such as tomatoes, pears, apples, peaches, citrus, banana, papaya, and mango, among others - Presents content developed by recognized and experienced high-level scientists, working in the postharvest pathology area worldwide - Provides basic information about each fungus, pre- and postharvest factors that contribute to infection and control measurements, including the use of chemicals and non-traditional methods

Chapter 1

Rhizopus stolonifer (Soft Rot)

Silvia Bautista-Baños¹, Elsa Bosquez-Molina², and Laura L. Barrera-Necha^{1 1}Centro de Desarrollo de Productos Bióticos, Instituto Politécnico Nacional Carretera Yautepec-Jojutla km. 8.5, Col. San Isidro, Yautepec Morelos, Mexico ²Universidad Autónoma Metropolitana-Iztapalapa, Col. Vicentina, Mexico

Abstract

Rhizopus stolonifer is considered the most important species in the genus Rhizopus. Disease symptoms that characterize R. stolonifer infection are watery areas quickly covered by coarse, gray hairy mycelia forming a mass of black sporangia at their tips. Infection usually occurs during harvest and handling. Due to the wide array of hosts that R. stolonifer can infect and its fast penetration and colonization, it has become an important target to control. Overall, R. stolonifer is controlled using synthetic fungicides; among the various registered fungicides are thiabendazole, benomyl, imazalil, propiconazole and thiocarbamates. The fungicides fluodioxonyl, tebuconazole, fenhexamide and azoxystrobin have also achieved notable control of this fungus. Sanitizers like chlorine, sodium hypochlorite, calcium hypochlorite, ozone and peracetic acid have shown to have good control on Rhizopus. Of the various non-conventional methods under experimentation, antagonists have attracted considerable attention. Bacteria including Pantoe agglomerans, Enterobacter cloacae, Pseudomonas syringae, and Bacillus spp., as well as yeasts of the genera Pichia, Kloeckera, Candida, Cryptoccoccus, Metschnikowia and Acremonium, have exerted a significant control on this fungus. Aqueous plant extracts belonging to the botanical families Amaryllidaceae, Annonaceae, Arecaceae, Bromeliaceae, Caricaceae, Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Leguminosae, Meliacea, Myrtaceae, Pinaceae, Sapotaceae, Solanaceae and Urticaceae, along with the essential oils of the genera Thymus, Cinnamom, Origanum and Citrus, have also produced excellent results under experimentation. UVC irradiation levels of up to 3.6 kJm² showed levels of control up to 50% on R. stolonifer. Chitosan, a widely known chitin derivative, alone or in combination with other natural products, has been able to reduce significantly Rhizopus soft rot on various horticultural commodities at various concentrations. Volatiles, hypobaric atmospheres, salts, minerals, plant phenolics, hot water, wax and salicylic acid have resulted in good control methods with promising applications.

Keywords

black mold; rhizopus rot; postharvest control; non-conventional methods

Contents

Overall Importance of the Fungus 1

Taxonomy and Morphology 5

Biology of the R. stolonifer Infection Process 6

Environmental and Agronomic Factors Favoring R. stolonifer Infection 8

Postharvest Factors Favoring R. stolonifer Infection 9

Control 9

Conventional Alternatives 9

Fungicides 9

Sanitizers 14

Alternatives Under Experimentation 18

Antagonists 18

Plant Derivatives 24

Irradiation 29

Chitosan 31

Hypobaric Atmosphere 31

Generally Regarded as Safe (GRAS) Compounds 34

Concluding Remarks 35

References 37

Overall Importance of the Fungus

Rhizopus stolonifer is one of the most common and fastest-growing species in the Zygomycota phylum. Disease caused by this fungus is known as soft rot, black mold and Rhizopus rot. It often grows within a few days in moist and humid conditions because its spores are quite common in the air. Rhizopus stolonifer is an important postharvest pathogen th...

Table of contents

• Cover image
• Title page
• Table of Contents
• Copyright
• Preface
• List of Contributors
• Chapter 1. Rhizopus stolonifer (Soft Rot)
• Chapter 2. Penicillium digitatum, Penicillium italicum (Green Mold, Blue Mold)
• Chapter 3. Crown Rot Disease of Bananas
• Chapter 4. Botrytis cinerea (Gray Mold)
• Chapter 5. Alternaria alternata (Black Rot, Black Spot)
• Chapter 6. Penicillium expansum (Blue Mold)
• Chapter 7. Monilinia fructicola, Monilinia laxa (Monilinia Rot, Brown Rot)
• Chapter 8. Aspergillus spp. (Black Mold)
• Chapter 9. Thielaviopsis paradoxa, Thielaviopsis basicola (Black Rot, Black Root Rot)
• Chapter 10. Lasiodiplodia theobromae in Citrus Fruit (Diplodia Stem-End Rot)
• Chapter 11. Colletotrichum gloeosporioides (Anthracnose)
• Index