The aim of this project was to identify microorganisms capable of preventing postharvest decay in tropical fruits caused by plant pathogenic fungi. The main focus was crown rot disease of banana caused by fusarium spp. And colleototrichum musae; some effort was also directed at anthracnose of banana caused by c. Musae. Ecoscience has demonstrated success in the development and commercialization of microbial control products for postharvest fungal decays in pome and citrus fruits. Our objective was to discover and develop microbial control agents that can prevent infection (e.G., Crown rot of banana) or inhibit destructive development from latent infections in tropical fruits (e.G., Anthracnose of banana and mango). Microbes with the ability to prevent decay on banana were selected from a variety of sources including pome, citrus and tropical fruits, as well as, three different soil types. Initial screening assessed 1) the ability to grow rapidly under standard culture conditions on a simple medium, and 2) the ability to colonize wound sites and suppress pathogenic fungi. Several isolates were identified with the desired activity. Some isolates prevented only crown rot of banana, some isolates prevented only anthracnose development, and a few showed ability to prevent both diseases.Applications:Postharvest decay of tropical fruits can result in estimated losses of 15% annually. This includes crown rot of banana and anthracnose diseases of many fruits. Fungicides are routinely used to prevent or minimize these losses. Concern with fungicide residues in fruits, the development of reduced sensitivities to fungicides in pathogen populations, and the prevalence of fungicides as environmental contaminants justifies the search for alternatives. The objective is to develop biological supplements and/or replacements for the synthetic fungicides currently in use. This approach has the potential to generate a base technology with multiple spin-off products for tropical fruits and vegetables.
