Abstract
About 45% of the world’s fruit and vegetables are wasted, resulting in postharvest losses and contributing to economic losses ranging from $10 billion to $100 billion worldwide. Soft rot disease caused by Rhizopus stolonifer leads to postharvest storage losses of sweet potatoes. Nanoscience stands as a new tool in our arsenal against these mounting challenges that will restrict efforts to achieve and maintain global food security. In this study, three nanomaterials (NMs) namely C60, CuO, and TiO2 were evaluated for their potential application in the restriction of Rhizopus soft rot disease in two cultivars of sweet potato (Y25, J26). CuO NM exhibited a better antifungal effect than C60 and TiO2 NMs. The contents of three important hormones, indolepropionic acid (IPA), gibberellic acid 3 (GA-3), and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) in the infected J26 sweet potato treated with 50 mg/L CuO NM were significantly higher than those of the control by 14.5%, 10.8%, and 24.1%. CuO and C60 NMs promoted antioxidants in both cultivars of sweet potato. Overall, CuO NM at 50 mg/L exhibited the best antifungal properties, followed by TiO2 NM and C60 NM, and these results were further confirmed through scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The use of CuO NMs as an antifungal agent in the prevention of Rhizopus stolonifer infections in sweet potatoes could greatly reduce postharvest storage and delivery losses.
Highlights
The consumption of fruits and vegetables has significantly increased in recent years due to the exponential growth of the population
This study aims to evaluate the antifungal activity of CuO, TiO2, and carbon 60 (C60) NMs against Rhizopus stolonifer in sweet potatoes and to determine the effects of nanomaterials on the defense-related activity of several enzymes and hormones and the structure of sweet potatoes
The zeta (ζ) potential of the C60 NM dispersed in deionized water at 100 mg/L was −18.933 ± 1.501 mV, 943.100 ± 6.788 nm; that of the CuO NM dispersed in water at 100 mg/L was 14.900 ± 1.217 mV, 2790.000 ± 19.799 nm; and that of the TiO2 NM dispersed in water at 0.5 mg/mL was Nanomaterials 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW
Summary
The consumption of fruits and vegetables has significantly increased in recent years due to the exponential growth of the population. It has been estimated that population growth by 2050 will be 9.8 billion and will require a 70% increase in food production to overcome food security [1]. The postharvest loss poses a serious threat to global food security due to devastating effects on vegetables and fruits during storage. According to a Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 2572. Nanomaterials 2021, 11, 2572 report of Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 2015, about. It has been documented that in developed countries, the loss rate of fresh fruit and vegetables is 20–25% [3,4]. Developing countries' situation is more severe due to inadequate handling facilities and losses reaching
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