Postharvest Pathogens and Disease Management of Horticultural Crops

A special issue of Horticulturae (ISSN 2311-7524). This special issue belongs to the section "Postharvest Biology, Quality, Safety, and Technology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 December 2019) | Viewed by 19040

Special Issue Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Postharvest Science of Fresh Produce, Agricultural Research Organization, The Volcani Center, Beit Dagan 7505101, Israel
Interests: postharvest pathogens; regulation of organic acid production and secretion; nitrogen metabolism and ammonia secretion; effect of the secreted substances on the modulation of host local pH and program cell death; mycotoxin and pathogenicity in postharvest pathogens; etiology and control of postharvest losses in deciduous and subtropical fruits by integration of pre-and postharvest treatments
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Disease control and improved postharvest crop quality are of significant importance for producers to prevent losses during their postharvest life. Fungal pathogens are one of the main factors of postharvest losses. They may penetrate directly or through wounds during early fruit growth, harvest, storage, and transport to the markets. However, fungal infections renew their development mostly in conditions of enhanced host senescence. The development of postharvest diseases and reduced quality of fruit tissue is the result of reduced host response to fungal penetration and enhanced senescence of the tissue. This leads to reduced quality and decay development. The enhanced physiological senescence and its effect on fungal colonization may result from environmental stresses during growth, harvest, and storage. Different approaches are presently used for the inhibition of post-harvest losses in crops. These include treatments with plant growth regulators before harvest and during postharvest handling to prevent host senesce. Preharvest and postharvest treatments with fungicides and/or biological compounds to either induce host resistance or prevent fungal pathogen colonization.  Different approaches are specifically applied to different host crops, depending on the conditions of fungal attack, the host response, and the kind of host crop.

This Special Issue on “Postharvest Disease Occurrence: Pre and/or Postharvest Practices” intends to provide a platform for report of novel insights into the different approaches used for the prevention of disease development after fruit harvest. Your contribution to this topic through a literature review or an original research report that deals with either pre- or postharvest practices that affect disease development after harvest in all fresh produce are welcomed.

Prof. Dr. Dov Prusky
Guest Editor

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Keywords

  • Improve storage
  • postharvest diseases
  • growth regulators
  • fungicide treatments
  • biological treatments
  • quiescent infections

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Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

13 pages, 3480 KiB  
Article
The Bacterial Soft Rot Pathogens, Pectobacterium carotovorum and P. atrosepticum, Respond to Different Classes of Virulence-Inducing Host Chemical Signals
by Paul A. Agyemang, Md Niamul Kabir, Caleb M. Kersey and C. Korsi Dumenyo
Horticulturae 2020, 6(1), 13; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae6010013 - 10 Feb 2020
Cited by 18 | Viewed by 7880
Abstract
Soft rot bacteria of the Pectobacterium and Dickeya genera are Gram-negative phytopathogens that produce and secrete plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDE), the actions of which lead to rotting and decay of their hosts in the field and in storage. Host chemical signals are [...] Read more.
Soft rot bacteria of the Pectobacterium and Dickeya genera are Gram-negative phytopathogens that produce and secrete plant cell wall-degrading enzymes (PCWDE), the actions of which lead to rotting and decay of their hosts in the field and in storage. Host chemical signals are among the factors that induce the bacteria into extracellular enzyme production and virulence. A class of compounds (Class I) made up of intermediate products of cell wall (pectin) degradation induce exoenzyme synthesis through KdgR, a global negative regulator of exoenzyme production. While the KdgR mutant of P. carotovorum is no longer inducible by Class I inducers, we demonstrated that exoenzyme production is induced in this strain in the presence of extracts from hosts including celery, potato, carrot, and tomato, suggesting that host plants contain another class of compounds (Class II inducers) different from the plant cell wall-degradative products that work through KdgR. The Class II inducers are thermostable, water-soluble, diffusible, and dialysable through 1 kDa molecular weight cut off pore size membranes, and could be a target for soft rot disease management strategies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Postharvest Pathogens and Disease Management of Horticultural Crops)
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22 pages, 4357 KiB  
Article
Impact Injury at Harvest Promotes Body Rots in ‘Hass’ Avocado Fruit upon Ripening
by Melinda L. Perkins, Diane Usanase, Bo Zhang, Daryl C. Joyce and Lindy M. Coates
Horticulturae 2020, 6(1), 11; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae6010011 - 5 Feb 2020
Cited by 6 | Viewed by 6811
Abstract
Global demand for avocados has risen rapidly in recent years, yet supplying fruit that consistently meets consumer expectations for quality remains a challenge in the industry. Body rots in avocado fruit are a leading cause of consumer dissatisfaction. Anecdotal evidence suggests that body [...] Read more.
Global demand for avocados has risen rapidly in recent years, yet supplying fruit that consistently meets consumer expectations for quality remains a challenge in the industry. Body rots in avocado fruit are a leading cause of consumer dissatisfaction. Anecdotal evidence suggests that body rot development may be promoted by mechanical injury at harvest and packing, despite the fruit being hard, green and mature (i.e., unripe) at these stages. Here, ‘Hass’ avocado fruit, harvested across multiple fruiting seasons from commercial orchards, were subjected to controlled impact from drop heights of 15–60 cm at the time of harvest or packing. With increasing drop height, body rot development at eating ripe stage generally occurred more frequently and produced larger lesions at the impact site and, in some experiments, elsewhere on the fruit. These findings refute a general belief that green mature avocado fruit can tolerate a degree of rough physical handling without ripe fruit quality being compromised. Ideally, best avocado harvesting and packing practice should recognize that unripe fruit must not experience drop heights of 30 cm or higher. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Postharvest Pathogens and Disease Management of Horticultural Crops)
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10 pages, 871 KiB  
Article
Suitability of Borago officinalis for Minimal Processing as Fresh-Cut Produce
by Claudia Miceli, Alessandra Moncada, Filippo Vetrano, Fabio D’Anna and Alessandro Miceli
Horticulturae 2019, 5(4), 66; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae5040066 - 23 Sep 2019
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 3530
Abstract
Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is a wild vegetable appreciated as a folk medicine and for culinary preparations. The introduction of borage as a specialized cultivation would allow for the diversification of vegetable crops and would widen the offerings of raw and minimally [...] Read more.
Borage (Borago officinalis L.) is a wild vegetable appreciated as a folk medicine and for culinary preparations. The introduction of borage as a specialized cultivation would allow for the diversification of vegetable crops and would widen the offerings of raw and minimally processed leafy vegetables. Thus, the aim of the research was to evaluate the quality and shelf-life of fresh-cut borage stored at different temperatures. Borage plants were grown during the autumn–winter season and immediately minimally processed after harvest. Fresh-cut borage leaves packed in sealed bags were stored at 2 or 6 °C for 21 d. Weight loss, total soluble solids (TSS), titratable acidity (TA), ascorbic acid, nitrates, leaf color characteristics and overall quality were determined through the storage period. Borage plants were deemed suitable for minimal processing. Storage temperature significantly influenced the rate of quality loss. Borage leaves had an initial nitrate content of 329.3 mg kg−1 FW that was not affected by temperature or storage. TSS and TA were higher in leaves stored at 6 °C. TSS, TA and ascorbic acid content increased during storage. Minimally processed borage leaves stored at 2 °C had lower weight loss and leaf color modifications during storage and a longer shelf life than those stored at 6 °C, so were still marketable after 21 d of storage. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Postharvest Pathogens and Disease Management of Horticultural Crops)
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