ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Agar-agar a promising edible coating agent for management of postharvest diseases and improving banana fruit quality
 
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1
Department of Plant Pathology, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
 
2
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
 
 
A - Research concept and design; B - Collection and/or assembly of data; C - Data analysis and interpretation; D - Writing the article; E - Critical revision of the article; F - Final approval of article
 
 
Submission date: 2018-03-21
 
 
Acceptance date: 2018-08-01
 
 
Online publication date: 2018-10-01
 
 
Corresponding author
El Sayed Hussein Ziedan   

Department of Plant Pathology, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
 
 
Journal of Plant Protection Research 2018;58(3):234-240
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Agar agar, a nontoxic and non-degradable gelling agent a promising coating agent to protect banana fruit against fungal postharvest diseases i.e., crown, finger, neck and flower end rots are caused by fungal isolates of Colletotrichum musae and Fusarium moniliforme. Coated-banana fruit samples with different concentrations of agar agar suspension particularly at 2.0 g L-1 exhibited a significant reduction incidence and severity of postharvest diseases compared to untreated fruit. The incidence and severity of postharvest diseases were significantly reduced in banana fruits dipped in agar suspension at 2.0 g L-1 for 5, 10 and 15 min compared to control. Moreover, application of agar suspension as coating agent at 2.0 g L-1 significantly decreased weight loss (%), firmness loss (%), and soluble solids concentration of banana fruit for 15 days at 25±2 ºC. Scanning electron microscopy observation confirmed that the coated fruit with agar colloid at 2.0 g L-1 had very fewer cracks and showed a smooth surface compared to untreated fruit that explains the quality improvement in agar-coated fruit compared to uncoated fruit. Overall, agar colloid as a safe coating agent could be used to protect banana fruit against postharvest rot diseases and extend fruit storage life during ripening and storage.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have declared that no conflict of interests exist.
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