Integrated control of Penicillium digitatum by the predacious yeast Saccharomycopsis crataegensis and sodium bicarbonate on oranges

• Autor(a) principal: Pimenta,R. S.
• Data de Publicação: 2010
• Outros Autores: Silva,J. F. M., Coelho,C. M., Morais,P. B., Rosa,C. A., Corrêa Jr,A.
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Brazilian Journal of Microbiology
• Texto Completo: http://old.scielo.br/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S1517-83822010000200022
• topic: biological control; Saccharomycopsis; Penicillium; postharvest disease; orange

Our investigation of integrated biological control (IBC) started with an assay testing activity of the predacious yeast Saccharomycopsis crataegensis UFMG-DC19.2 against Penicillium digitatum LCP 4354, a very aggressive fungus that causes postharvest decay in oranges. Under unfavourable environmental conditions, the yeast showed a high potential for control (39.9% disease severity reduction) of this fungus. This result was decisive for the next step, in which S. crataegensis was tested in association with sodium bicarbonate salt, a generally regarded as safe (GRAS) substance. The yeast was able to survive at different concentrations of the salt (1%, 2% and 5%), and continued to grow for a week at the wound site, remaining viable at high population for 14 days on the fruit surface. The yeast alone reduced the severity of decay by 41.7% and sodium bicarbonate alone reduced severity of decay by 19.8%, whereas the application of both led to a delay in the development of symptoms from 2 to 10 days. Ingredients of the formulations were not aggressive to fruits since no lesions were produced in control experiments.