Application of Thymol Vapors to Control Postharvest Decay Caused by and in Grapefruit.

Two of the major postharvest diseases impacting grapefruit shelf life and marketability in the state of Florida (USA) are stem-end rot (SER) caused by and green mold (GM) caused by . Here, we investigated the in vitro and in vivo efficacy of vapors of thymol, a natural compound found in the essential oil of various plants and the primary constituent of thyme () oil, as a potential solution for the management of GM and SER. Thymol vapors at concentrations lower than 10 mg L significantly inhibited the mycelial growth of both pathogens, causing severe ultrastructural damage to conidia.

Overcoming lemon postharvest molds caused by Penicillium spp. multiresistant isolates by the application of potassium sorbate in aqueous and wax treatments.

Penicillium digitatum and Penicillium italicum are the main causal agents of postharvest diseases in lemon. Over the last decades, the appearance of isolates resistant to the main commercial fungicides has been considered one of the most serious problems for the citrus industry. In this work, potassium sorbate (KS) was evaluated as an alternative to chemical fungicides to control postharvest diseases caused by Penicillium isolates resistant to imazalil, thiabendazol, and pyrimethanil.

Inhibition of the lemon brown rot causal agent Phytophthora citrophthora by low-toxicity compounds.

Background: Phytophthora spp., soil-borne oomycetes, cause brown rot (BR) on postharvest lemons. The management of this disease is based on cultural practices and chemical control using inorganic salts of limited efficacy.

Polyhexamethylene guanidine as a fungicide, disinfectant and wound protector in lemons challenged with Penicillium digitatum.

Citrus green mold, a postharvest disease caused by Penicillium digitatum, provokes important economic losses on lemon production. Here, the effectiveness of polyhexamethylene guanidine (PHMG) to inhibit P. digitatum growth and to control green mold on artificially infected lemons was evaluated.

UVA Photoactivation of Harmol Enhances Its Antifungal Activity against the Phytopathogens and .

Phytopathogenic fungi responsible for post-harvest diseases on fruit and vegetables cause important economic losses. We have previously reported that harmol (1-methyl-9H-pyrido[3,4-b]indol-7-ol) is active against the causal agents of green and gray molds and , respectively. Here, antifungal activity of harmol was characterized in terms of pH dependency and conidial targets; also photodynamic effects of UVA irradiation on the antimicrobial action were evaluated.

Antifungal activity of β-carbolines on Penicillium digitatum and Botrytis cinerea.

β-carbolines (βCs) are alkaloids widely distributed in nature that have demonstrated antimicrobial properties. Here, we tested in vitro six βCs against Penicillium digitatum and Botrytis cinerea, causal agents of postharvest diseases on fruit and vegetables. Full aromatic βCs (harmine, harmol, norharmane and harmane) exhibited a marked inhibitory effect on conidia germination at concentrations between 0.

Removal of pathogenic bacterial biofilms by combinations of oxidizing compounds.

Bacterial biofilms are commonly formed on medical devices and food processing surfaces. The antimicrobials used have limited efficacy against the biofilms; therefore, new strategies to prevent and remove these structures are needed. Here, the effectiveness of brief oxidative treatments, based on the combination of sodium hypochlorite (NaClO) and hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) in the presence of copper sulfate (CuSO4), were evaluated against bacterial laboratory strains and clinical isolates, both in planktonic and biofilm states.