Synergistic effects of combining biocontrol agents with silicon against postharvest diseases of jujube fruit

Abstract

The synergistic effects of biocontrol yeasts Crypiococcus laurentii and Rhodotorula glutinis combined with silicon (Si) against Alternaria alternata and Penicillium expansum molds were investigated in jujube fruit (Chinese date, Zizyphus jujuba) stored at 20 and 0°C, respectively. Combinations of C. laurentii and R. glutinis at 5 × 107 cells/ml with 2% Si was most effective in controlling the diseases caused by A. alternata and P. expansum on jujube fruit stored at 20°C. When fruits were stored at 0°C, combining C. laurentii and R. glutinis with Si was as effective against P. expansum as was Si or the yeasts applied alone and was more effective in controlling A. alternata. Si may have a fungistatic effect by directly inhibiting pathogen growth, but it did not greatly influence the growth of the antagonists. Copyright ©, International Associalion for Food Protection.