Biologically-based alternatives to synthetic fungicides for the control of postharvest diseases

Recently, biological control has been advanced as an alternative to synthetic fungicides and considerable success in laboratory and pilot scale tests has been realized utilizing antagonistic microorganisms to control postharvest diseases. Several antagonistic yeasts and bacteria have been isolated and shown to have a broad spectrum of activity against a number of postharvest pathogens on a variety of fruit. However, for biological control methods to emerge as an economically viable option, their consistency and efficacy in controlling postharvest decay needs to be enhanced to a level comparable to that of synthetic fungicides. This could be possible through an integrated strategy that exploits the additive and synergistic effects of different biological approaches. Received 06 February 1997/ Accepted in revised form 29 May 1997