Publication

Abstract : Postharvest diseases viz., anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum musae and crown rot caused by Lasiodiplodia theobromae severely impacts the banana trade and quality. The study aims to identify and develop biological control methods for the effective management of postharvest diseases and extending the shelf-life of banana. A total of 70 microbial (Sixty-one bacterial and nine fungal) isolates were evaluated under in-vitro against the pathogens. Among these, four out of 61 bacterial and two out of nine fungal isolates have recorded >50% inhibition of both C. musae and L. theobromae pathogens. Further, evaluation of these six microbes under in-vivo conditions (ambient temperature (28°C ±2°C) and cold storage (13.5°C)) revealed that only Trichoderma asperellum (prr2) completely suppressed the emergence of postharvest diseases and also significantly extended the shelf-life of banana compared to the conventional (Carbendazim at 500 ppm) process and control (without any treatment). Further to elucidate, the biocontrol T. asperellum (prr2) was compared with other existing postharvest treatments to study the influence on managing postharvest diseases and physico-chemical properties of banana. The results indicated that biocontrol agents expressed higher efficiency in controlling the emergence of anthracnose and crown rot diseases. Besides, physiological loss in weight increased drastically with the control whereas the application of Trichoderma asperellum (prr2) resulted lesser loss in weight till 60 days of storage with better bio-chemical characteristics like TSS, total sugar and ascorbic acid content. Considering the search for greener methods, the biocontrol agent T. asperellum (prr2) could be used as an effective substitute to chemicals for the management of postharvest diseases and extension of shelf-life of banana fruits in domestic and export trade.