USE OF LEMONGRASS OIL AND MODIFIED ATMOSPHERE PACKAGING ON CONTROL OF ANTHRACNOSE AND QUALITY MAINTENANCE IN AVOCADO CULTIVARS

摘要

In vitro studies indicated that the essential oils lemongrass (LO) inhibited thengrowth of Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. The gas chromatography–mass spectrometrynanalysis of LO showed geranial and neral as major compounds. Fruitninoculation trials for three cultivars with LO in biorientated polypropylene modifiednatmosphere packaging (MAP) and commercial treatment (prochloraz andnFreshmark bag showed lower disease severity at 25C for 5 days than treatmentsnwith stand-alone MAP, LO+Freshmark bag and untreated control. Multivariatencanonical variate analysis of the results indicated that the naturally infectednavocado cultivars from LO+MAP treatment significantly reduced the incidence ofnanthracnose, gray pulp, vascular browning, weight loss, loss of fruit firmness andnshowed acceptable taste, flavor, texture and higher overall acceptance after ripeningnat 25C followed by cold storage at 10C for 18 days. Thus, the efficacy of combinednapplication of LO in MAP as a suitable alternative to the currently adoptedncommercial treatment was demonstrated in this investigation.