Shoots near fruits of Cucumis melo L. were continuously heated at night to a minimum of 30°C from the fifth day after anthesis (DAA). Minimum and maximum ambient temperatures in the heating apparatus were about 24 and 37°C, respectively, and these temperatures were 13 and 7°C higher, respectively, than the minimum and maximum control ambient temperatures in the greenhouse. Minimum and maximum temperatures of fruit near heated shoots (designated heated fruit) were 15 and 28°C; these temperatures were 3 and 2°C higher, respectively, than those of control fruit. Flesh temperature of the heated fruit measured by thermograph was also much higher than that of the control fruit. Heated fruit weighed significantly less than control fruit. Cell size of heated fruit was smaller than that of control fruit. Sucrose phosphate synthase (SPS) activity and mean sucrose content were higher in heated fruit than in control fruit.

Longkong fruit abscission was found to be sensitive to external ethylene at concentrations as low as 0.05μLL⁻¹. Ethylene induced fruit drop at the junction between the main peduncle and the calyx, at a clear abscission zone. Fruit drop at the junction between calyx and the fruit, however depended on an external force. There may or may not be an abscission zone at this site. Dipping longkong fruit in 200μLL⁻¹ NAA solution delayed fruit abscission and slightly reduced ethylene production. NAA application was also found to reduce the effect of external ethylene treatment. Applications of 1μLL⁻¹ 1-MCP for 6h minimized the effect of external ethylene and almost doubled storage life of longkong. The combination of NAA and 1-MCP treatment did not give a synergistic effect.

To improve fruit set in pear cv. Punjab Beauty, some chemicals like GA₃ (10, 20 and 30 ppm), sucrose (5, 10 and 15%) and boric acid (100, 200 and 300 ppm) were sprayed at two stages; full bloom and petal fall. Fruit set was significantly improved by 4.16% with sucrose (15%) and 3.43% with GA₃ (20 ppm) as compared to control. It was higher when these chemicals were sprayed at full bloom stage. However, fruit retention at fruit harvest stage was better with GA₃ 20 ppm followed by sugar 15 per cent. The same treatments also improved fruit yield significantly by 55.15 and 48.58%, respectively over control. Application of GA₃ at 20 ppm reduced the seed number in fruits by 61 per cent over control. All the treatments improved fruit quality in terms of higher TSS and reduced acidity over control. Treatments GA₃ 20 ppm and sucrose 15 per cent applied at given at full bloom stage proved efficient in improving fruit set and increasing fruit yield.

To improve fruit set in pear cv. Punjab Beauty, some chemicals like GA3 (10, 20 and 30 ppm), sucrose (5, 10 and 15%) and boric acid (100, 200 and 300 ppm) were sprayed at two stages; full bloom and petal fall. Fruit set was significantly improved by 4.16% with sucrose (15%) and 3.43% with GA3 (20 ppm) as compared to control. It was higher when these chemicals were sprayed at full bloom stage. However, fruit retention at fruit harvest stage was better with GA3 20 ppm followed by sugar 15 per cent. The same treatments also improved fruit yield significantly by 55.15 and 48.58%, respectively over control. Application of GA3 at 20 ppm reduced the seed number in fruits by 61 per cent over control. All the treatments improved fruit quality in terms of higher TSS and reduced acidity over control. Treatments GA3 20 ppm and sucrose 15 per cent applied at given at full bloom stage proved efficient in improving fruit set and increasing fruit yield.

Hard mature green mango fruit ('Kensington Pride') were dipped for five minutes in an aqueous solution containing 1.0 mM (+)-cis, trans-abscisic acid (ABA) and its inhibitor 0.2 mM nordihydroguaiaretic acid (NDGA) and 'Tween 20' (0.05%) as a surfactant and allowed to ripen at ambient temperature (21±1°C) to investigate the role of ABA in mango fruit ripening. Untreated fruit was used as a control. The exogenous application of 1.0 mM ABA accelerated ethylene production, respiration rate, fruit skin colour development and softening as well as rheological properties of pulp (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, chewiness, adhesiveness and stiffness) compared to the control and inhibitor treated fruit. NDGA-treated fruit exhibited reduced ethylene production and respiration rate (48.14 and 7.71%, respectively), as well as delayed fruit softening and other rheological properties of the pulp. Exogenous application of ABA advanced accumulation of total sugars and reduction in total organic acids during fruit ripening compared to changes in control fruit and the trend was reversed in NDGA-treated fruit. The results suggest that ABA plays a key role in modulating mango fruit ripening.

Fruit quality and productivity of 8-year-old peaches and nectarines, grafted onto ‘Cadaman-Avimag’, ‘Viking’, ‘Atlas’, ‘G×N 15’, ‘GF 677’, ‘MRS 2/5’ and ‘Nemaguard’ rootstocks (with ‘Nemaguard’ considered as the control), were evaluated during the 2008-2009 growing season. The trees were planted in the Univiveros Experimental Nursery in Paine (Metropolitan Region, Chile). Total yield, fruit size distribution, number of fruit, and fruit weight were recorded. Fruit quality parameters including total soluble solids, blush colour development, and flesh firm-ness were also measured. On average, ‘Cadaman’ yielded the highest weight and number of fruit, compared with the control, followed by ‘G×N 15’, ‘Atlas’ and ‘GF 677’ to a lesser degree, while ‘Viking’ was similar to the ‘Nemaguard’ control, and ‘MRS 2/5’ yielded less than the control. There were no great differences between the rootstocks and the control with respect to average fruit size and weight, although the most vigorous, ‘Cadaman’ and ‘G×N 15’, were significantly higher (190.1 and 197.2 g, versus 179.5, respectively). For fruit quality parameters, ‘Viking’ had the highest accumulation of total soluble solids with respect to ‘Nemaguard’ (11 to 10.8°Brix) and ‘MRS 2/5’ had the highest percentage of blush colour compared with the control (78.3 versus 71.9%). For flesh firmness at harvest, ‘GF 677’ was the firmest (9.3 lb.) and MRS 2/5 was the softest (7.3 lb).

Fruit drop is a major problem resulting in low production and reduction in the income of mango growers in tropical and subtropical regions. Growth regulators, naphthalene acetic acid, gibberellic acid, and 2, 4-dichloro phenoxy acetic acid at the rates of (15, 25, and 35 ppm) were sprayed at full bloom stage on a popular mango cultivar ‘Dusehri’ growing in the subtropical region of Faisalabad in Pakistan. All of the treatments significantly influenced the number of fruits retained at pea, marble, and at harvest stages of fruit growth as compared to the control. Among the treatments, gibberellic acid sprayed at 35 ppm proved to be very effective with 31% more fruit retention than the control. In regard to fruit quality, gibberellic acid (35 ppm) and 2, 4-dichloro phenoxy acetic acid (15 ppm) resulted in a significant enhancement of fruit size in terms of fruit weight (140.8 and 130.1 g), which was 17.6 and 8.7% that of the control (119.8 g), respectively. The treatment 2, 4-D (35 ppm) recorded significantly higher TSS (19.5 °Brix) and TSS to titratable acid ratio over the control. Ascorbic acid content was significantly higher with 35 ppm NAA (61.9 mg/100 ml), while total sugars (20.4%) were significantly higher in 2, 4-D (35 ppm) than the control (11.4%). In general, application of growth regulators resulted in improved fruit retention and fruit quality.

Postharvest decay in harvested fruit causes considerable economical losses. Fungicides are the primary means to control these losses. Public concern in food safety and environmental issues and the increase of pathogen resistant populations have enhanced the interest in developing alternative methods to fungicides to control postharvest fruit decay. During the last two decades a huge information and advances concerning the selection of antagonists, mode of action, different approaches to enhance biocontrol activity, formulation and production have been achieved, and some biofungicides are already in the market. It is likely that several more products will enter the market in the near future, as the result of the biological control research programs worldwide. Nonetheless, it is necessary to continue finding new potential microorganisms, better understanding the mode of action, and pathogen, antagonist and host interactions, to increase the potential of biocontrol helping to become a real alternative to synthetic postharvest fungicides. This article presents an overview of postharvest biological control approaches and explores new research possibilities to improve biocontrol activity.