A Review on Sustainable Alternatives of Post Harvest Treatments in Fruits

The fruit farming industry faces spoilage and disease after harvest, with Colletotrichum being the most common cause. Safer, more effective, biorational, and sustainable disease management are suggested. Plant-based essential oils (Eos) have synergistic antimicrobial, herbicide, insecticide, antioxidant, and fungicide properties that can fight agricultural fungi. Due to their negative effects on agroecosystems and public health, the OECD recommends a switch to sustainable food systems and synthetic fungicides. Essential oils are complex lipids from plants' secondary metabolism that are allelopathic, herbivorous, and phytopathogenic microorganism-protective. Their effects on bacteria and fungi include cell wall degradation, cytoplasmic and lipid membrane synthesis interference, lysis, cell death, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Essential oils were shown to treat postharvest diseases in apple cultivars and Penicillium spp., B. cinerea in strawberries and apples. Combining essential oils and non-toxic additives can control fruit postharvest fungal infections. Immersion, spraying, fumigation, and volatilization can be applied to fruit. Researchers suggest adding essential oils to edible or biodegradable films and coatings to extend fruit shelf life and reduce microorganism spoilage. Agriculture is promising with nanobiotechnologies that improve volatile compound stability, pesticide residual effects and Aedes aegypti adhesion and repellency. Further research is needed to determine nanomaterials' toxicity and environmental impact.