Fludioxonil – A potential alternative for postharvest disease control in mango fruit

Abstract

Stem-end rot (SER) is one of the most prevalent postharvest diseases of mango fruit grown in the Mediterranean climate, whereas anthracnose disease caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides almost never occurs due to the dry environment during fruit development and harvest. SER is caused by a variety of fungal pathogens. The main cause of SER in Israel is Lasiodiplodia theobromae, which is not well controlled by the current fungicide. In the search for potential alternatives to control postharvest SER in mango, we assessed the efficacy of various fungicides and focused on two commercial fungicides — fludioxonil and prochloraz — at controlling postharvest decay of mango fruit. In vitro testing, Fludioxonil was found to be significantly more effective at inhibiting L. theobromae mycelial growth and conidial germination. Subsequent treatments with fludioxonil were also significantly more effective than prochloraz in controlling SER of mango fruit inoculated with L. theobromae. Both fungicides controlled side decay, mainly Alternaria alternata, of mango fruit with similar efficiency. However, fludioxonil treatments significantly changed the stem end microbiome community and reduced SER incidence and severity in mango fruit relative to similar treatments with prochloraz. We suggest fludioxonil as a postharvest treatment to control mango fruit decay in areas that harvest during a dry season.