Postharvest Period Research Articles

Identification of the Causal Agent of Aqueous Spot Disease of Sweet Cherries (Prunus avium L.) from the Jerte Valley (Cáceres, Spain).

The pre and postharvest disease named ‘aqueous spot’ is an emerging risk for sweet cherries growing in Jerte Valley (Cáceres, Spain). Early stages of the disease appear in the tree, but it is usually detected after harvesting, during the postharvest period. Symptoms include the appearance of skin discolouration and translucency in the shoulder areas. At the most advanced stages, a mycelium of white colour partially or completely covers the fruit. This manuscript provides a detailed description of the microbes involved in this disease, such as bacteria, yeasts, and moulds. Microbes of different cherry cultivars were studied during two consecutive seasons (2019 and 2020). The counts of bacteria and yeast in damaged tissues were higher (7.05 and 6.38 log10 CFU/g for total aerobic mesophilic microbes and yeasts, respectively) than sound tissues (6.08 and 5.19 log10 CFU/g, respectively). The Enterobacterales order dominated the bacteria population. Among yeasts, Yarrowia lipolytica, in 2019, and Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Metschnikowia viticola, in 2020, were consistently isolated from all samples. The presence of moulds was inconsistently detected at the early stage of this disease by plate counts. However, microscopic observations revealed the presence of hyphae in cherry flesh. Different pathogenic moulds were identified, although white mycelium, identified as Botrytis cinerea by molecular methods, was consistently isolated at later stages. Inoculation tests confirmed the involvement of white-mycelium B. cinerea in the development of this new postharvest disease in the Jerte Valley. Its combination with Enterobacterales enhanced the evolution of rotting, whereas the combination with yeasts decreased and delayed the symptoms. This work presents the first report of a consortia of microorganisms implicated in the development of ‘aqueous spot’, an emerging disease in sweet cherry cultivars in the Jerte Valley.

Quality Evaluation of the Ready-to-Eat Avocado cv. Hass.

Consumer interest in avocado fruit has increased in the last decade in Europe. Nutritional and quality attributes affect the choice of these fruits, whose characteristics must also be maintained in the postharvest period. The preference regarding the feasibility of eating ripe fruits can assure and improve the success of the emerging marketing of avocados. The exposure of fruits to exogenous ethylene (C2H4) treatment can accelerate the process of fruit ripening. The aim of this work was at improving the existing knowledge about the quality traits of avocado cv. Hass fruits at the ready-to-eat stage. The most important qualitative traits (weight loss, dry matter content, hardness pulp, and external and internal fruit colour) were evaluated up to 96 hours, maintaining the fruit at two different temperatures, T1 (+8°C) and T2 (+17°C). A trained sensory panel was conducted at 96 hours to confirm the quality of avocado cv. Hass ripened with exogenous C2H4.

Intermittent temperatures in the conservation of ‘BRS Kampai’ peaches

This study aimed at evaluating the quality of peaches borne by the cultivar BRS Kampai when cooled at intermittent temperatures throughout storage. They were stored at 1°C and relative humidity between 80% and 90% in a cold storage chamber. The following treatments were applied: T1 - fruit stored at 1±0.5°C; T2 - fruit stored at 1±0.5°C and increase in temperature every five days to 25°C; and T3 - fruit stored at 1±0.5°C and increase in temperature every seven days to 25°C. Fruit were submitted to increase in temperature when they were withdrawn from the cold storage chamber and kept in a heated room. Evaluations were conducted when fruit were harvested, after 10 cold storage days and 2 days of commercialization simulation at 25ºC (10+2) and after 20 cold storage days and 2 days of commercialization simulation at 25ºC (20+2). Peaches were evaluated in terms of mass loss, pulp firmness, soluble solids, titratable acidity, pH and epidermis color. T1 exhibited higher mass loss, higher soluble solid content and higher pulp firmness after 20 cold storage days, by comparison with the other treatments. T2 led to lower mass loss after 20 cold storage days than the ones of the other treatments. However, T2 also showed higher loss of pulp firmness in the same period. The use of intermittent temperatures throughout storage of ‘BRS Kampai’ peaches may be an alternative to extend their post-harvest period.

Hazard Analysis of Traditional Post-Harvest Operation Methods and the Loss Reduction Effect Based on Five Time (5T) Management: The Case of Rice in Jilin Province, China

Traditional post-harvest operation methods applied in rice fields lack advanced management knowledge and technology, which has led to post-harvest losses. We proposed the concept of Five Time (5T) management for the first time. 5T management divides the whole life cycle of rice into different growth time interval to complete process management. This paper mainly introduces the management of rice grain period, that is, the post-harvest management period, including the operation process management of harvesting, field stacking, drying, warehousing, and storing. In 2019, our research team formulated the 5T management method, which considers the entire post-harvest process, and carried out a pilot application of this method at the Jilin Rice Industry Alliance of Jilin Province. Moreover, to promote the 5T management method, our research team carried out follow-up experiments in rice production enterprises and found severe post-harvest rice losses. This paper combined a large number of literature and the basic theory research of rice post-harvest to analyze the traditional methods for post-harvest processing and the associated rice losses. By implementing the 5T management method, 4.33% of losses incurred during the T1 harvesting period could be recovered. In the T2 field period, drying rice within 48 h after harvesting could reduce losses by 2.5%. In the T3 drying period, the loss rate could be reduced by 1.6% if traditional drying methods were replaced by mechanical drying and by 0.6% if cyclic drying was implemented to prevent over-drying. In the T5 storage period, the loss rate of 7% could be reduced by adopting advanced grain storage technologies such as low-temperature storage. Overall, the rice loss rate could be reduced by 15.43%, which is equivalent to a yield of 32.68 million tonnes of rice. The important factors in each period are strictly controlled in the 5T management method to prevent the post-harvest losses caused by flawed concepts and improper management and to increase the amount of usable fertile land.

Systems Biology Applied to the Study of Papaya Fruit Ripening: The Influence of Ethylene on Pulp Softening.

Papaya is a fleshy fruit that undergoes fast ethylene-induced modifications. The fruit becomes edible, but the fast pulp softening is the main factor that limits the post-harvest period. Papaya fast pulp softening occurs due to cell wall disassembling coordinated by ethylene triggering that massively expresses pectinases. In this work, RNA-seq analysis of ethylene-treated and non-treated papayas enabled a wide transcriptome overview that indicated the role of ethylene during ripening at the gene expression level. Several families of transcription factors (AP2/ERF, NAC, and MADS-box) were differentially expressed. ACO, ACS, and SAM-Mtase genes were upregulated, indicating a high rate of ethylene biosynthesis after ethylene treatment. The correlation among gene expression and physiological data demonstrated ethylene treatment can indeed simulate ripening, and regulation of changes in fruit color, aroma, and flavor could be attributed to the coordinated expression of several related genes. Especially about pulp firmness, the identification of 157 expressed genes related to cell wall metabolism demonstrated that pulp softening is accomplished by a coordinated action of several different cell wall-related enzymes. The mechanism is different from other commercially important fruits, such as strawberry, tomato, kiwifruit, and apple. The observed behavior of this new transcriptomic data confirms ethylene triggering is the main event that elicits fast pulp softening in papayas.

Evaluation of losses and quality maintenance of wheat during storage in a commercial unit in Brazil.

Specific studies of Brazilian wheat storage on a commercial scale on the maintenance of wheat quality are required since the continental extent of Brazil has regions of different weather and because of the diversity of the storage network. This study aimed to evaluate the technological quality (physicochemical and rheological), sanitary quality (insects, fungi and mycotoxins) and dry matter loss of wheat stored in a metal silo in a commercial storage unit. Two dynamic samples, collected during loading and unloading of wheat in silos, and four static samples, collected using a commercial pneumatic grain sampler, were used in this study. Silo temperature was higher than 20 °C during the summer season. The temperature was approximately 15 °C from June to December and provided excellent conditions for grain aeration, which resulted in the maintenance of wheat quality, with no changes in hectoliter weight and rheological properties of wheat (falling number, wet gluten and stability). The effect of Alternaria spp. (~220) and Aspergillus flavus (~7) infection on wheat did not differ statistically during the storage period, although a slight increase in A. flavus infection was noted in February (summer season). The wheat mycotoxins deoxynivalenol, zearalenone, aflatoxins and ochratoxin A were not detected during the studied storage period. Finally, dry matter reduced by approximately 0.4% after the storage period - approximately 0.013% per month. The management practices and climate conditions in southern Brazil provided excellent conditions for grain aeration at ambient air temperature and led to the maintenance of wheat quality during the post-harvest period. © 2021 Society of Chemical Industry.

Evaluating the role of remote sensing-based energy balance models in improving site-specific irrigation management for young walnut orchards

California’s weather is characterized by extreme droughts and floods. This has resulted in overdraft of groundwater aquifers as growers turn to this source of water for irrigation during droughts. California produces 99% of all walnuts in the US, walnut growers are under extreme pressure to optimize crop water use. Water use estimates at the field scale are crucial for growers to refine irrigation scheduling decisions. In this study, two single source remote sensing-based energy balance models (pySEBAL [python-based Surface Energy Balance Algorithm for Land] and SEBS [Surface Energy Balance System algorithm]) for estimating evapotranspiration (ETa) were evaluated against in-situ ETa measurements from surface renewal in two young walnut orchards in California’s Sacramento Valley. Strong correlations were obtained between the RS-based estimates and in-situ measurements for both pySEBAL and SEBS from 2017 to 2020, with R2 above 0.87, RMSE ranging from 0.79 to 1.05 mm, and NSE ranging from 0.79 to 0.88. SEBS out-performed pySEBAL on estimating time-series daily ETa for walnut at the field scale. During the mid-season characterized by high wind speed and high temperatures, pySEBAL and SEBS both underestimated ETa while the two models slightly overestimated ETa during the early growing season and post-harvest period. These results indicate the need for future research to focus on improving the performance of pySEBAL and SEBS when simulating time-series ETa under advection and sparse vegetation conditions, to provide more accurate ETa for both in-season and off-season irrigation water management. Comparisons of historical Kc and RS-based Kc were evaluated, and RS-based Kc matched better with the actual water use requirements of developing 2nd to 4th leaf young walnuts orchards. We observed substantial spatiotemporal variability of RS-based Kc in wo young walnut orchards at the CAPEX and Kauffman sites. For instance, Kc values for the north and south halves of the CAPEX orchard were above 1.2 and 0.9–1.1 respectively. Kc values for the north and south halves at the Kauffman site were in a range of 0.6–0.71 and 0.82–0.94 respectively. In other words, conventional irrigation management based on multiplying historical Kc and reference evapotranspiration is inadequate for site-specific walnut irrigation management due to spatial and temporal variability in Kc. ETa and Kc mapping from two single source models were similar in the spatial patterns and provided an overall visual characterization of the spatial variability in crop water use. Overall, RS-based ETa models using freely accessible satellite images and open-source algorithms could be used as an alternative to expensive in-situ measurements for enhancing site-specific young walnut irrigation management.

ANALISIS FAKTOR YANG MEMPENGARUHI PENGOLAHAN LIMBAH KAKAO MENJADI PAKAN TERNAK DI PT BERAU COCOA, KALIMANTAN TIMUR

Waste is the residual product from an industrial process and the household, useless, no economic value and is a serious problem in the industrial era 4.0, where regulations on environmentally friendly industrialization are an important issue. Primary industries such as sugar cane, oil palm, cocoa produce a lot of wastes during the pre-harvest period such as leaves and three litters, and in the post-harvest period such as pulp, fruit skins, and fruit pulp. PT Berau Cocoa processes cocoa skin waste into animal feed which is applied to cattle in Binungan. This research uses a descriptive research method and how to teach data by distributing 50 questionnaires to cocoa farmers. The results of data analysis show the fact that most cocoa farmers are male of 38 peoples (76%), high school education level of 33 peoples (82%), joined along 4-6 years as 45 peoples (90 %), all respondents are married, and own private land. Supporting factors that influence the processing of cocoa waste into animal feed can be seen from the average value of each factor, method factor (0.596), material factor (0.512), human factor (0.416), and money factors (0.404), and the lowest average is the engine factor (0.312).

Reduction of post-harvest losses through estimation of open air-drying period of agricultural products of mass consumption: case of Benin

ABSTRACT Reducing the post-harvest losses of agricultural products is a current problem which deserves special attention, worldwide. In this work, agro-meteorological parameters collected at different weather stations of Benin Republic were analysed in order to highlight their seasonality, and to identify favourable air-drying periods for agricultural products. Periods from March to May and October to December have the peaks of global radiation and insolation; high temperatures values are concentrated between February and May, and rains sequences are observed from March to November. Cross-analysis of different parameters led to statistically identifying favourable drying periods for agricultural products in each region of the country. The period from November to February was shown to be favourable. It includes most post-harvest periods for most of the cultivated agricultural products and also has the best environmental and practical conditions for natural air-drying.

Emerging Concepts and Practices in Post-Harvest Management of Horticultural Crops Revisited

This paper offers a comprehensive account on the emerging concepts and practices in post-harvest management of horticultural crops. Post-harvest science and technology facilitates the industries to deliver safe, nutritious and fresh horticultural products to consumers at the end of the supply chain from farm to mouth. Substantial food wastages, which occur in the post-harvest period and such losses, could be reduced by improved post-harvest research, advancement, training and education. At present, many novel technologies and techniques are already being implemented to reduce the post-harvest losses which are witnessed at harvesting, during packing and transportation, in wholesale and retail markets, and during delays at various levels of handling. Improvements are also required to minimize the losses effectively and keep the process-cost low so that it could be applicable at commercial scale in a wide range of economic levels. By developing the practices utilized at post-harvest phase, the expenses accompanying for additional processing paces could also be reduced. Future studies should also be focused on incorporating various emerging technologies with post-harvest practices and appropriate improved practices should be adopted to an existing value chain and marketing system.

Opportunities to reduce nitrous oxide emissions from horticultural production systems in Canada

Horticultural systems, specifically vegetable production systems, are considered intensive agricultural systems as they are characterized by high nitrogen (N) fertilizer application rate, frequent tillage, and irrigation operations. Accordingly, horticultural production in temperate climates is prone to N losses — mainly during post-harvest (during fall and winter) or pre-plant (spring) periods — such as N2O emissions and nitrate leaching. The risk for N losses is linked to low crop N use efficiency (NUE) combined with a narrow C:N and high N content of crop residues. Here we reviewed the studies conducted in Canada and similar climates to better understand the risk of N2O emission and potential agronomic management strategies to reduce N2O emissions from horticultural systems. Current knowledge on N2O emissions from horticultural systems indicate that increasing crop NUE, modifying the amount, type, time, and rate of N fertilizer inputs, and adopting cover crops in crop rotations are some of the effective approaches to decrease N2O emissions. However, there is uncertainty related to the efficiency of the existing N2O mitigation strategies due to the complex interactions between the factors (soil characteristics, type of plant species, climatic conditions, and soil microbial activity) responsible for N2O production from soil. Little research on N2O emissions from Canadian horticultural systems limits our ability to understand and manage the soil N2O production processes to mitigate the risk of N2O emissions. Thus, continuing to expand this line of research will help to advance the sustainability of Canadian horticultural cropping systems.

Effect of enzymatic treatments and microfiltration on the physicochemical quality parameters of feijoa (Acca sellowiana) juice

AbstractFeijoa fruit (Acca Sellowiana) has a short postharvest period, thus, processing is usually an alternative. The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of three different commercial enzyme preparations in the extraction of feijoa juice in the yield and quality parameters. The juices with Pectinex®, Lallzyme® and Rohapect® were evaluated under three different concentrations (1, 5 and 10 U mL−1) before and after the pulping process. The samples were valued for total soluble solids, pH, reducing sugars, titratable acidity and colour. The juice that showed the most promise was evaluated for the microfiltration stage and rheological behaviour and particle size distribution were measured. The three treatments with Pectinex had an increase in juice yield in 43, 55 and 60%, while the samples with enzymes Lallzyme and Rohapect had no increase in yield compared to the control. All the tested enzymes had a positive impact on the colour of the juice, improving the colour parameters. The microfiltered juice had a behaviour index value of 1,091, indicating Newtonian behaviour. The fresh juice showed values below one (0.2178), indicating a non‐Newtonian and typically pseudoplastic behaviour. Among three enzymes used, Pectinex® showed the better results for physical–chemical parameters for extraction of feijoa juice.

Validation of MCD64A1 and FireCCI51 cropland burned area mapping in Ukraine

Small fires represent an important under-represented fire type within active fire and burned area datasets in addition to fire emission inventories, especially in regions with substantial agricultural areas. In order to improve regional and global burned area and fire emissions inventories, active fire and burned area algorithm developers are focusing on improving the mapping accuracy of the timing and spatial extent of these small fires. However, product developers have often relied on burned area validation methods that are designed for larger wildfires, and which are therefore not appropriate for these small fire types. Specifically, validation of crop residue burns using pre- and post-Landsat and Sentinel imagery (as recommended by the Committee on Earth Observing Satellites Working Group on Calibration and Validation (CEOS) Land Product Validation protocol) breaks down because the short duration (less than 1 day) between the burn and the subsequent field plowing removes the burned signature before the next sensor overpass. Here we describe an alternate approach that allowed us to rigorously validate two widely available, coarse-resolution global burned area products — MCD64A1 and FireCCI51 — in cropland through using exhaustively-mapped field-level burned area reference maps produced for seven reference areas in Ukraine in 2016 and 2017. Our results highlight the overall high omission errors (MCD64A1: 71–76% and FireCCI51: 63–99%) and commission errors (MCD64A1: 62–81% and FireCCI51: 49–93%) for both products within cropland, while also demonstrating the difficulty of mapping crop residue burned area within the spring, pre-planting mapping period compared to the summer, post-harvest mapping period. Product-specific artifacts and errors are also demonstrated including the confusion with the larger harvest spectral signal (MCD64A1) and the large swaths of unmapped pixels clustered in regular geometric shapes (FireCCI51). These validation results will be used to help guide the upcoming MCD64A1 Collection 7 burned area product improvements within cropland.

Partitioning of transpiration to cut flower organs and its mediating role on vase life response to dry handling: A case study in chrysanthemum

The mediating role of water relations on vase life response to prior desiccation (dry handling) was addressed in cut chrysanthemum. In the first part of the study, the contribution of different organs to whole-cut flower transpiration was determined in 12 cultivars. During desiccation, leaf transpiration decreased owing to stomatal closure. Instead, no active regulation was apparent in either stem or flower. Cultivar differences in leaf transpiration were related to the weight loss required to induce stomatal closure (R2 = 0.919). A small portion of cut flower transpiration was through the flower (12.3 ± 0.3 %), with the major contributor being either leaves or stem, depending on the water status and the cultivar. Leaf transpiration was positively correlated with whole-cut flower transpiration (R2 = 0.879). In the second part of the study, the postharvest longevity upon arrival and following desiccation (5 or 10 % weight loss) was determined on six cultivars with contrasting whole-cut flower transpiration rates. In these cultivars, the rehydration ability following a dehydration event, petal carbohydrate and soluble protein contents, as well as leaf carbohydrate, soluble protein and mineral contents were also assessed. Impaired water transport, as a result of prior desiccation, was not associated with the vase life response to dry handling. A strong correlation between whole-cut flower transpiration in the desiccation experiment and the vase life response to prior desiccation was found. Low vase life decrease in response to prior desiccation was associated with decreased whole-cut flower transpiration during the postharvest period. In conclusion, cultivar differences in vase life response to prior desiccation were attributed to variation in leaf stomatal characteristics.

Grape UV-C irradiation in the postharvest period as a tool to improve sensorial quality and anthocyanin profile in 'Cabernet Sauvignon' wine.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13197-021-05191-5.

Influence of post-harvesting period on quality of thyme and spearmint essential oils

The quality of essential oils of common thyme (Thymus vulgaris) and spearmint (Mentha spicata) during long storage and following experimental (25 weeks) period were studied. Samples of both plants were hydrodistilled periodically during the experimental period and evaluated for their composition, as well as for antioxidant activity. The quality of the oils was evaluated by analyzing the percentage composition of the constituents, but also by quantification of the major compounds via calibration method using authentic standards. Although the percentage composition did not show any significant changes during the experimental period, results from quantification of the major compounds revealed that the quality of both oils significantly decreases during this period. Consequently, the antioxidant activity of the oils also decreased. It was found that the first 15 − 20 weeks of the post-harvesting period are crucial for the quality of the essential oils. Presented results show that percentage content is not necessarily reliable way of presenting the quality of the essential oil as a crop product that will be used in the food and pharmaceutical industry.

The Effects of Salicylic, Folic and Ascorbic Acid Treatment on Shelf Life Quality of Broccoli Florets

This study aims to investigate the effect of Salicylic acid (2 mM), Folic acid (5 mg L−1) and Ascorbic acid (2 mM) treatments on the shelf life and quality of 'Belstar F1' broccoli variety. Treated broccoli heads were stored at 21±2˚C for 4 days in plastic containers with lids. It is determined that at the end of the storage period, the lowest weight loss (2.74%), total soluble solids (8.07%), pH value (7.14) and the highest amount of titratable acidity (0.12%) were found in the group treated with ascorbic acid and the least change in color parameters (L*; 29.41, a*; -4.59, b*; 10.78) and the highest total chlorophyll content (0.32 mg/g) in the group treated with folic acid. It is thought that the effects of ascorbic acid, salicylic acid and folic acid treatment at postharvest storage period should be investigated in detail in molecular and biochemical studies for more concrete data.

Mentoring and Agile: Points of Contact in Restaurant Management

The topicality. The escalation of the pandemic and the oscillating lockdown create depressive moods in the restaurant business: owners balance on the verge of choosing between survival and violation of quarantine conditions, staff are forced to change professions. The realities of further uncertainty require the transformation of the restaurant’s business environment and strengthening the competencies of staff suitable for crisis management. The strategic framework requires effective tactical sessions given the specifics of working in a lockdown: restaurant business adjusts service formats and continues effective communication through distribution systems, distancing services, organizing targeted delivery to customers and sales of restaurant products. Customer-oriented management thus acquires new meaning and flexible forms, where mentoring becomes a flagship in a disoriented economic environment. Therefore, the introduction of mentoring, which is correlated with Agile-management technologies, is an important component of the strategy of restaurant business development and a relevant object of study. Purpose and methods. The purpose of the study is a theoretical analysis of mentoring and the formation of its reference model, which determines the areas of restaurant management improvement in pandemic risks. The inter paradigmatic nature of the research objects determines the use of a set of general scientific methods, such as theoretical analysis and synthesis, modeling, elimination, which provided a thorough consideration of the components of mentoring and Agile-management of business processes in the restaurant, their modeling into a single system of anti-crisis lockdown. Results. An empirical analysis of the definitions of “mentoring” and “Agile” has been made. A reference model of mentoring has been formed and its main components have been investigated. The basic provisions of Agile-control in a restaurant in the conditions of oscillating lockdown have been developed. Recommendations for compiling mentoring and Agile management into an effective model of restaurant tactical development have been developed. Conclusions and discussions. The study showed that the actualization of mentoring and flexible management methods is an urgent scientific task, as it allows studying and scientifically substantiating the recommendation complex for their implementation in the practice of business entities. Further research needs to be deepened to assess the mentoring effectiveness and Agile-management in restaurants in the post-harvest period.

Influence of Orchard Cultural Practices during the Productive Process of Cherries through Life Cycle Assessment

This study describes the influence of orchard cultural practices during the productive process of cherries on the environmental impact in terms of energy, air, soil and water through a “farm to market” Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The results were used to identify the orchard cultural practices that contribute significantly to the environmental impact and to find solutions to reduce those impacts, serving as best practices guide to improving the environmental performance and as benchmarks for other national and international cherry and fruit growers. Primary data for production, harvest and post-harvest periods were gathered experimentally. The openLCA 1.10.2 software and the ecoinvent 3.5 database were used for modelling. Test case scenarios are modelled to identify the influence of cultural practices in low and high cherry production campaigns depending on climatic conditions and consequently diseases and plagues. Moreover, results are compared with other studies, not only covering cherries but also other fruits. The energy consumption per hectare in the production phase is similar in test scenarios. The energy consumption of orchard cultural practices related to tractor use, fertilizers and fungicides application are the main hotspots in terms of global warming, freshwater ecotoxicity and eutrophication, and terrestrial acidification. The use of electric vehicles, change the warehouse location or redefine transportation routes can reduce this impact, along with the optimization of the cherry’s quantity transported in each trip. In addition, the use of plant protection products, fertilizers and herbicides with less environmental impact will contribute to this objective. For that, the use of agriculture and precision systems to predict the need for fertilizers (nutrients), herbicides and fungicides, the use of decision support systems to define the dates of cultural practices, as well as innovative and emerging food and by-products processing methods are suggested. Thus, this study identifies and quantifies the environmental impacts associated with the production system of cherries and their main hotspots. It provides a best-practices guide for sustainable solutions in orchard management that contributes to the competitiveness and sustainability of fruit companies.

Endophytic bacteria from strawberry plants control gray mold in fruits via production of antifungal compounds against Botrytis cinerea L.

Botrytis cinerea causes the gray mold disease in a wide range of plant hosts, especially in post-harvest periods. The control of this phytopathogen has been accomplished through the application of fungicides. However, this practice can cause environmental problems and increase fruit production costs. In addition, this fungus species has developed resistance to conventional synthetic fungicides. In this context, plant growth-promoting bacteria have shown potential for application in agricultural production because they are able to stimulate plant growth through different mechanisms, including the biological control of phytopathogens (indirect growth promotion mechanism). The aim of this work was to evaluate in vitro and in fruits the potential for indirect plant growth-promotion of bacteria isolated from strawberry leaves and roots. Dual plate method and inverted plate method were used to verify the ability of controlling in vitro the growth of Botrytis cinerea via the production of diffusible and volatile antifungal compounds, respectively. The effect of six bacterial isolates that showed greater potential for biological control in vitro was evaluated by scanning electron microscopy. Antifungal compounds produced by these bacterial isolates were identified by liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry. Six bacterial strains were tested on strawberry pseudofruits. Five selected strains belong to the genus Bacillus and one to the genus Pantoea sp. Selected strains were able to inhibit more than 80 % of the mycelial growth of B. cinerea by the production of diffusible compounds and 90 % by volatile antifungal compounds production. Scanning electron microscopy showed the intense degradation of fungal hyphae caused by the presence of all bacterial strains. Bioactive compounds (salycilamide, maculosin, herniarin, lauroyl diethanolamide, baptifoline, undecanedioic acid, botrydial, 8 3-butylidene-7-hydroxyphthalide and N-(3-oxo-henoyl)-homoserine lactone) were obtained from liquid culture of these strains and extraction with ethyl acetate. All six isolates tested in vivo reduced the incidence of gray mold in strawberry pseudofruits in postharvest. It is concluded that isolates 26, 29, 65, 69, 132 (Bacillus sp.) and MQT16M1 (Pantoea sp.) have potential application for the biological control of Botrytis cinerea in strawberry via the production of diffusible and volatile antifungal compounds.