జర్నల్ ఆఫ్ ప్లాంట్ పాథాలజీ & మైక్రోబయాలజీ

నైరూప్య

Control of Anthracnose Disease of Nigerian Native Strain Mango Fruits Using Hot Air and Hot Water Treatments

Oluwole Olakunle Oladele*, Oke Tolulope, Otori Jennifer

Control of anthracnose disease of mango fruits using hot air (HA) and hot water (HW) treatments was investigated. Nigerian native strain mango fruits of uniform size and color were selected, washed with clean water and disinfected for 10 minutes in 0.385% m/v of sodium hypochlorite and air-dried at 28 ± 2°C. The fruits were then inoculated with spore suspension (8.04 × 103 cells/ml) of C. gloesporioides. Artificially inoculated fruits in a separate experimental set up were then subjected to HA and HW treatments at 52°C, 55°C for 1, 3 and 5 minutes each before storage at 28 ± 2°C and 75 ± 5% relative humidity to determine disease severity while fruits that were not inoculated served as control. By day 20 in storage among the several temperature – time combinations experimented, only fruits treated at 52°C and 55°C for 3 minutes each with HA had a mean severity values of 1.40 ± 0.04 and 1.60 ± 0.25 respectively while fruits treated with HW at 52°C for 3 mins, 55°C for 1 min and 55°C for 5 mins had disease severity of 1.00 ± 0.00, 1.40 ± 0.40 and 1.50 ± 0.25 respectively, all indicating that the fruits were disease free. Consequently, these effective heat protocols could be applied as part of an integrated pesticide-free alternative for the control of mango anthracnose.