Postharvest diseases of bananas and their sustainable management

Publication date: 11/03/2024
Extent: 46 pages

Contributions by: M. Gloria Lobo and Goretti Díaz-Delgado, Instituto Canario de Investigaciones Agrarias (ICIA), Spain; and Francisco Javier Fernández-Rojas, Cooperativa Platanera de Canarias (COPLACA), Spain

Chapter synopsis:

This chapter discusses crown rot and anthracnose in detail, with a briefer coverage of the minor diseases such as mokillo fruit speckle, squirter and ceratocystis fruit stem-end rot. These diseases are discussed with regards to their causal agents, described and illustrated symptoms, disease cycle and epidemiology. In addition, a range of options for control are discussed as postharvest treatments play a crucial role in preserving fruits from decay and consequently from food waste. These treatments ought to be sustainable, environmental-friendly and cost-effective to meet consumer demands. Good management practices adhered to during cultivation, harvest, transportation to the packaging facilities, packing, refrigeration, ripening and commercialization can avoid pathogen infestation and proliferation. More recently, physical and biological control strategies have emerged as promising alternatives to the use of synthetic fungicides to reduce postharvest diseases, especially when combined with current good management practices. This is important as consumers are increasingly demanding fruit that is non-chemically treated and sustainably produced to secure food safety and environmental sustainability.

DOI: 10.19103/AS.2022.0108.22