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Postharvest evaluation of natural coatings and antifungal agents to control Botrytis cinerea in Rosa sp.

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Abstract

Botrytis cinerea is a fungal pathogen that limits rose production and commercialization worldwide. Therefore, we evaluated a novel postharvest treatment against Botrytis cinerea in roses (Rosa sp. cv Vendela) using coating bases and antifungal agents of natural origin. Aloe vera pulp, cassava starch and gelatin were used as coating bases. Oregano essential oil (Origanum vulgare), thyme essential oil (Thymus vulgaris) and chitosan were used as natural antifungal agents. The coating bases were evaluated in different concentrations to observe effects of toxicity and opening diameter in rose buds. Gelatin and cassava starch coatings inhibited rose opening and showed petal damage in all concentrations tested. However, Aloe vera pulp at 25% allowed normal buds’ opening and no damage was observed, indicating that Aloe vera could be an ideal coating base for rose postharvest treatments. During in vitro assays, natural antifungal agents efficiently inhibited Botrytis cinerea growth in the concentrations tested. Further, mixture treatments of Aloe vera pulp (25%) with oregano essential oil (1%), thyme essential oil (0.1%) and chitosan (0.1%) showed independently neither damage nor opening inhibition in rose buds. Selected combinations of Aloe vera pulp and natural antifungal agents were applied in roses infected with Botrytis cinerea to evaluate their control of this pathogen. Unfortunately, the selected combinations did not reduce pathogen growth during postharvest treatments since they were similar to untreated controls. Further research has to be performed to find ideal combinations with Aloe vera that could inhibit B. cinerea during postharvest treatments in roses.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by Chancellor Grants USFQ. We appreciate the collaboration of the staff of Laboratorio de Biotecnología Agrícola y de Alimentos at the Universidad San Francisco de Quito and the professors involved. Special thanks for their technical support to Gabriela Cueva, Noelia Barriga, and Karen Herrera. Many thanks to Ines Ortiz and Elizabeth Rea of Quitoinor flowers for providing roses cultivar Vendela for this investigation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratorio de Biotecnología Agrícola y de Alimentos, Ingeniería en Agroempresas, Colegio de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá, 17-1200-841, Quito, Ecuador

    Ismael Herrera-Romero, Carlos Ruales & Antonio Leon-Reyes

  2. Ingeniería en Agroempresas, Colegio de Ciencias e Ingenierías, Universidad San Francisco de Quito, Campus Cumbayá, 17-1200-841, Quito, Ecuador

    Carlos Ruales, Mario Caviedes & Antonio Leon-Reyes

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  1. Ismael Herrera-Romero
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  2. Carlos Ruales
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  3. Mario Caviedes
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  4. Antonio Leon-Reyes
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Correspondence to Antonio Leon-Reyes.

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Highlights

• Natural coating bases could be a novel method to control Botrytis cinerea during postharvest process.

• Aloe vera pulp allowed rose opening and was not phyto-toxic indicating that Aloe vera could be a promising coating base during postharvest treatments.

• Specific concentrations of natural antifungal agents allowed normal rose opening and did not show any damage in rose petals.

• Essential oils and chitosan tested inhibited the growth of Botrytis cinerea in vitro.

• Combinations of Aloe vera/natural antifungal agents during postharvest treatments did not inhibit B. cinerea growth in infected rose petals.

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Herrera-Romero, I., Ruales, C., Caviedes, M. et al. Postharvest evaluation of natural coatings and antifungal agents to control Botrytis cinerea in Rosa sp.. Phytoparasitica 45, 9–20 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12600-017-0565-2

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