Control of postharvest diseases of tropical fruits: challenges for the 21st century [review]. [Conference paper]
1994
Johnson, G.I. (Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, St Lucia (Australia). Div. of Horticulture) | Sangchote, S. (Kasetsart Univ., Bangkok (Thailand). Dept. of Plant Pathology)
The fungal pathogens that attack tropical fruit appear to be non-selective in their choice of host. As a consequence, basic information about the biology and control of tropical fruit pathogens may be broadly applicable to a range of commodities. However, all the pathogens do not cause serious losses in all the fruit. Inter- and intra-generic differences in susceptibility of fruit to the major pathogens depend upon a range of host defences, as well as the availability of inoculum and ecological niche requirements. Definition of these factors is necessary for successful postharvest disease control. The challenges for the 21st century are to increase storage life and extend the period of freedom-from-disease beyond the stage of optimum eating quality. Researchers on tropical fruits face greater obstacles than their colleagues working on temperate fruit. There are fewer of them, working in an information vacuum, with much greater evolutionary gaps between the existing and the desired fruit attributes, such as disease resistance and length of storage life. Opportunities to reduce disease losses and extend storage life need to be exploited to the full as they accrue from increasing knowledge of fruit and pathogen biology, from harnessing the benefits of molecular biology, and from improving handling, storage, and transportation technology.
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