• EFFECT OF STORAGE TEMPERATURES ON POSTHARVEST DISEASES OF DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus undatus Haw.) CULTIVATED IN THE MEKONG DELTA REGION, VIETNAM

EFFECT OF STORAGE TEMPERATURES ON POSTHARVEST DISEASES OF DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus undatus Haw.) CULTIVATED IN THE MEKONG DELTA REGION, VIETNAM

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Page number of post
56-61
Full text
Category
Monthly Journal
Title

EFFECT OF STORAGE TEMPERATURES ON POSTHARVEST DISEASES OF DRAGON FRUIT (Hylocereus undatus Haw.) CULTIVATED IN THE MEKONG DELTA REGION, VIETNAM

Author
Nguyen Khanh Ngoc, Nguyen Van Phong, A.B. Woolf, R.A. Fullerton
Abstract

This study was aimed to determine the effects of different storage temperatures and storage durations on postharvest diseases of dragon fruit planted in the Mekong delta region. Dragon fruit of uniform maturity and without defects were collected from two growers in Long An and Tien Giang provinces and stored at 0°C, 5°C and 10°C for 21 and 26 days before kept in 20°C stores for 3 days to simulate shelf life in the market. Other fruit were harvested and held at 20°C for 7 and 12 days considered as a non-stored control. The proportion of fruit with rots and changes in bract appearance were recorded and analysed. Results conducted from the experiment showed that fruits stored at 0°C and 10°C (for both 21- 26 days), and fruit kept at 20°C (control) for seven and 12 days sustained the most damage. The most common disorders were rots and wilting and colour change (yellowing) of the bracts. Fruits stored at 6°C for 21 and 26 days remained fresh in appearance and had significantly fewer rots. The pathogenicity of fungi isolated from the rots was confirmed by re-inoculation of healthy fruit and the pathogens identified by conventional and molecular methods. The main fungi associated with spoiled fruit were: Alternaria alternata, Aspergillus sp., Bipolaris cactivora, Cladosporium sp., Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Colletotrichum truncatum, Fusarium andiyazi, Fusarium dimerum, Fusarium equiseti, Geotrichum candidum, Mucor sp., Neoscytalidium dimidiatum, Phomopsis longicolla, Rhizopus stolonifer.

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