Mycofumigation for the Biological Control of Post- Harvest Diseases in Fruits and Vegetables: A Review

There are several causes of post-harvest losses in fruits and vegetables, and microbial infections are responsible for the greatest losses that occur during the transport, storage, and sale of these products. Chemical control is the most used method to control post-harvest diseases in fruits and vegetables by directly applying synthetic fungicides to the product to be consumed. However, the indiscriminate use of fungicides may be associated with serious toxicity problems in humans and environmental imbalance. Mycofumigation, which is the use of volatile antimicrobial organic compounds produced by fungi to inhibit microbial growth, has become a promising alternative for controlling phytopathogenic fungi associated with post-harvest diseases in fruits and vegetables. The technique has some advantages relative to traditional disease control methods, for example, it does not require direct contact between the antagonist and the plant product, the antimicrobial volatiles diffuse easily in closed environments, they do not leave residues on the plant product to be consumed, and most of the antimicrobial volatile mixtures exhibit bioactivity against a wide range of microorganisms, including many phytopathogens associated with post-harvest diseases. This review highlights mycofumigation as a method for controlling post-harvest diseases in fruits and vegetables, emphasizing the effects of volatile compounds on phytopathogenic fungi and their potential to be applied during the transport and storage of fresh fruits and vegetables.