Abdelali Blenzar

A set of commonly used food additives was evaluated for their antifungal activity against the brown rot disease of fruits caused by the fungal pathogen Monilinia fructigena, which is one of the most economically important agents, causing important damage to pome fruits, such as pears and apples. The radial mycelial growth of the fungal pathogen was assessed in PDA amended with different concentrations (0.5, 2, 2.5, and 5%) of each additive. The results underlined that most of the additives displayed a significant inhibition of mycelial growth, with the extent of inhibition varying depending on the specific additive and concentration used. Five food additives showed high inhibition rates (above 88%), of which sodium bicarbonate, sodium carbonate, copper sulphate, and sodium hydroxide were the most effective, whereas ammonium carbonate, magnesium chlorite, and citric acid were the least effective. Interestingly, the coatings containing sodium bicarbonate, copper sulphate, and ammonium bicarbonate significantly reduced the incidence of brown rot disease in apples, but other additives were not effective, such as ammonium carbonate and magnesium sulphate. The anhydrous sodium sulphate used at a concentration of 2%, was found to be one of the least effective additives, with a reduction rate of 20%. Subsequently, food additives showing good growth inhibition rates and reduction in disease severity were then tested in semi-commercial trials at temperatures of 4 °C and 22 °C. The results indicated that these additives demonstrate effectiveness in controlling M. fructigena at specific concentrations, and lower temperatures (4 °C) can improve the efficiency of the control measures. In addition, the selected food additives exhibited significant antimicrobial activity against M. fructigena, suggesting their application as a promising alternative for managing brown rot disease in apple fruits.

Simultaneous treatment with antagonistic bacteria Bacillus amylolquefaciens (SF14), Alcaligenes faecalis (ACBC1), and the food additive sodium bicarbonate (SBC) to control post-harvest brown rot disease caused by Monilinia fructigena, and their effect on the post-harvest quality of nectarines were evaluated. Four concentrations of SBC (0.5, 2, 3.5, and 5%) were tested. Results showed that bacterial antagonists displayed remarkable compatibility with different concentrations of SBC and that their viability was not affected. The results obtained in vitro and in vivo bioassays showed a strong inhibitory effect of all treatments. The combination of each bacterial antagonist with SBC revealed a significant improvement in their biocontrol efficacies. The inhibition rates of mycelial growth ranged from 60.97 to 100%. These results also indicated that bacterial antagonists (SF14 or ACBC1) used at 1 × 10⁸ CFU/ mL in combination with 2, 3.5, or 5% SBC significantly improved the control of M. fructigina by inhibiting the germination of spores. Interestingly, disease incidence and lesion diameter in fruits treated with SF14, ACBC1 alone, or in combination with SBC were significantly lower than those in the untreated fruits. In vivo results showed a significant reduction in disease severity ranging from 9.27 to 64.83% compared to the untreated control, while maintaining the appearance, firmness, total soluble solids (TSS), and titratable acidity (TA) of fruits. These results suggested that the improved disease control by the two antagonistic bacteria was more likely due to the additional inhibitory effects of SBC on the mycelial growth and spore germination of the pathogenic fungus. Overall, the combination of both bacteria with SBC provided better control of brown rot disease. Therefore, a mixture of different management strategies can effectively control brown rot decay on fruits.

The main objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of both antagonistic bacteria Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (SF14) and Alcaligenes faecalis (ACBC1) used in combination with salicylic acid (SA) to effectively control brown rot disease caused by Monilinia fructigena. Four concentrations of salicylic acid (0.5%, 2%, 3.5%, and 5%) were tested under in vitro and in vivo conditions. Furthermore, the impact of biological treatments on nectarine fruit parameters’ quality, in particular, weight loss, titratable acidity, and soluble solids content, was evaluated. Regardless of the bacterium, the results indicated that all combined treatments displayed a strong inhibitory effect on the mycelial growth of M. fructigena and disease severity. Interestingly, all SA concentrations significantly improved the biocontrol activity of each antagonist. The mycelial growth inhibition rate ranged from 9.79% to 88.02% with the highest reduction rate recorded for bacterial antagonists in combination with SA at both concentrations of 0.5% and 3.5%. The in vivo results confirmed the in vitro results with a disease severity varying from 0.00% to 51.91%. A significant biocontrol improvement was obtained with both antagonistic bacteria when used in combination with SA at concentrations of 0.5% and 2%. The lowest disease severity observed with ACBC1 compared with SF14 is likely due to a rapid adaptation and increase of antagonistic bacteria population in wounded sites. The impact of all biological treatments revealed moderate significant changes in the fruit quality parameters with weight loss for several treatments. These results suggest that the improved disease control of both antagonistic bacteria was more likely directly linked to both the inhibitory effects of SA on pathogen growth and induced fruit resistance.