Microbial Control of Postharvest Diseases of Fruits, Vegetables, Roots, and Tubers

Abstract

13.1 Introduction Postharvest decay of fruits, vegetables, roots, and tubers (Table 13.1) limits the period of storage, compromises marketing and consumers' acceptability, and causes substantial losses. Gray mold, Green mold, blue mold, and sour rot caused by Botrytis cinerea (Pers.) Fries, Penicillium digitatum (Pers.) Sacc., Penicillium italicum Wehmer, and Geotrichum candidum Link, respectively, are the most common pathogens during storage and transportation of fruits. Likewise, soft rot, Fusarium rot, and Sclerotium rot caused by Rhizopus oryzae Went & Prinsen and R. stolonifer Ehrenb. ex Fr., Fusarium oxysporum Schlecht and F. solani M.Sacc., and Corticium rolfsii Curzi, respectively, are the common postharvest pathogens of vegetables, roots, and tubers (Snowdown 1990). In packing houses, fungicides are used extensively to protect fruit, vegetables, roots, and tubers against these dis-eases. Fungicide residues in those commodities and their possible effects on human health and the environment and the development of fungicide resistance by the pathogens have, of late, stimulated the evaluation of alternative control methods that are effective and safe to use (Kinay and Yildiz 2008). Biological control by the microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and yeasts) is cur-rently used to control various decays on pome, apple, citrus and stone fruits, avocado, seed potatoes, cassava, yams, aroids, and sweet potatoes (Stockwell and