ORIGINAL ARTICLE
Agar-agar a promising edible coating agent for management of postharvest diseases and improving banana fruit quality
 
More details
Hide details
1
Department of Plant Pathology, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
 
2
Department of Agricultural Botany, Faculty of Agriculture, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt
 
 
A - Research concept and design; B - Collection and/or assembly of data; C - Data analysis and interpretation; D - Writing the article; E - Critical revision of the article; F - Final approval of article
 
 
Submission date: 2018-03-21
 
 
Acceptance date: 2018-08-01
 
 
Online publication date: 2018-10-01
 
 
Corresponding author
El Sayed Hussein Ziedan   

Department of Plant Pathology, National Research Centre, Dokki, Cairo, Egypt
 
 
Journal of Plant Protection Research 2018;58(3):234-240
 
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
ABSTRACT
Agar agar, a nontoxic and non-degradable gelling agent a promising coating agent to protect banana fruit against fungal postharvest diseases i.e., crown, finger, neck and flower end rots are caused by fungal isolates of Colletotrichum musae and Fusarium moniliforme. Coated-banana fruit samples with different concentrations of agar agar suspension particularly at 2.0 g L-1 exhibited a significant reduction incidence and severity of postharvest diseases compared to untreated fruit. The incidence and severity of postharvest diseases were significantly reduced in banana fruits dipped in agar suspension at 2.0 g L-1 for 5, 10 and 15 min compared to control. Moreover, application of agar suspension as coating agent at 2.0 g L-1 significantly decreased weight loss (%), firmness loss (%), and soluble solids concentration of banana fruit for 15 days at 25±2 ºC. Scanning electron microscopy observation confirmed that the coated fruit with agar colloid at 2.0 g L-1 had very fewer cracks and showed a smooth surface compared to untreated fruit that explains the quality improvement in agar-coated fruit compared to uncoated fruit. Overall, agar colloid as a safe coating agent could be used to protect banana fruit against postharvest rot diseases and extend fruit storage life during ripening and storage.
CONFLICT OF INTEREST
The authors have declared that no conflict of interests exist.
 
REFERENCES (24)
1.
Akter H., Hassan M.K., Rabbani M.G., Mahmud A.A. 2013. Effects of variety and postharvest treatments on shelf life and quality of banana. Journal of Environmental Science and Natural Resources 6 (2): 163−175. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jesn....
 
2.
Ali A., Maqbool M., Ramachandran S., Alderson P.G. 2010. Gum arabic as a novel edible coating for enhancing shelflife and improving postharvest quality of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) fruit. Postharvest Biology and Technology 58 (1): 42–47. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.post....
 
3.
Ali A., Mahmud T.M.M., Sijam K., Siddiqui Y. 2011. Effect of chitosan coatings on the physico-chemical characteristics of Eksotika II papaya (Carica papaya L.) fruit during cold storage. Food Chemistry 124 (2): 620–626. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.food....
 
4.
Armisen R., Galatas F. 2000. Agar. p. 21–40. In: “Handbook of Hydrocolloids” (G.O. Phillips, P.A. Williams, eds.). CRC Press., Cambridge, England, 450 pp.
 
5.
Baldwin E.A., Burns J.K., Kazokas W., Brecht J.K., Hagenmaier R.D., Bender R.J., Pesis E. 1999. Effect of two edible coatings with different permeability characteristics on mango (Mangifera indica L.) ripening during storage. Postharvest Biology and Technology 17 (3): 215–226. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-....
 
6.
Cháfer M., Sánchez-González L., González-Martínez C. 2012. Fungal decay and shelf life of oranges coated with chitosan and bergamot, thyme, and tea tree essential oils. Journal of Food Science 77 (8): 182−187. DOI: 10.1111/j.1750-3841.2012.02827.x.
 
7.
Davidson A. 2006. The Oxford Companion to Food. Oxford University Press. 936 pp. DOI: 10.1093/acref/97801.92806819.001.0001.
 
8.
Dhall R.K. 2013. Advances in edible coatings for fresh fruits and vegetables: A review. Critical Reviews in Food Science and Nutrition 53 (5): 435−450. DOI: 10.1080/10408398.2010.541568.
 
9.
Enoki T., Okuda S., Kudo Y., Takashima F., Sagawa H., Kato I. 2010. Oligosaccharides from agar inhibit pro-inflammatory mediator release by inducing heme oxygenase 1. Bioscience, Biotechnology, and Biochemistry 74 (4): 766−770. DOI: 10.1271/bbb.90803.
 
10.
El-Sharony T.F., Amin O.A. 2015. Effect of some natural substances on fruit quality of Washington navel orange under cold storage. Journal of Agriculture and Ecology Research International 2 (1): 58−68. DOI: 10.9734/JAERI/2015/12222.
 
11.
FDA. 1972. Agar-agar, GRAS (generally recognized as safe) Food Ingredients. Food and Drug Administration, PB-265502, Federation of America Societies for Experimental Biology, Bethesda MD, USA.
 
12.
Hossain M.S., Iqbal A. 2016. Effect of shrimp chitosan coating on postharvest quality of banana (Musa sapientum L.) fruits. International Food Research Journal 23 (1): 277−283.
 
13.
Lassois L., de Bellaire L., Janaki M.H. 2008. Biological control of crown rot of bananas with Pichia anomala strain K and Candida oleophila strain. Biological Control 45 (3): 410–418. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bioc....
 
14.
Maqbool M., Ali A., Ramachandran S., Smith D.R., Alderson P.G. 2010. Control of postharvest anthracnose of banana using a new edible composite coating. Crop Protection 29 (10): 1136−1141. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.crop....
 
15.
Park H.J. 1999. Development of advanced edible coatings for fruits. Trends in Food Science and Technology 10 (8): 254–260. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0924-....
 
16.
Pathan A.K., Bond J., Gaskin R.E. 2010. Sample preparation for SEM of plant surfaces. Materials Today 12 (1): 32−43. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S1369-....
 
17.
Ranasinghe L.S., Jayawardena B., Abeywickrama K. 2005. An integrated strategy to control post-harvest decay of Embul banana by combining essential oils with modified atmosphere packaging. International Journal of Food Science and Technology 40 (1): 97–103. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365....
 
18.
Romanazzi G., Lichter A., Gabler F.M., Smilanick J.L. 2012. Recent advances on the use of natural safe alternatives to conventional methods to control postharvest gray mold of table grapes. Postharvest Biology and Technology 63 (1): 141−147. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.post....
 
19.
Snedecor G.W., Cochran W.G. 1980. Statistical Methods. 7th ed. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, 503 pp.
 
20.
Tanada-Palmu P.S., Grosso C.R.F. 2005. Effect of edible wheat gluten-based films and coatings on refrigerated strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) quality. Postharvest Biology and Technology 36 (2): 199–208. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.post....
 
21.
Yaman O., Bayoindirli L. 2002. Effects of an edible coating and cold storage on shelf-life and quality of cherries. LWT − Food Science and Technology 35 (2): 146–150. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1006/fstl.2....
 
22.
Zhang D., Quantick P.C. 1997. Effects of chitosan coating on enzymatic browning and decay during postharvest storage of litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn.) fruit. Postharvest Biology and Technology 12 (2): 195−202. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0925-....
 
23.
Zoeir H.A., El Zahaby H.M., Ziedan E.H., Maswada H.F. 2017a. Etiology and ecology of fungi causing postharvest diseases of banana fruits in Egypt. Plant Archives 17 (2): 1463−1468.
 
24.
Zoeir H.A., El Zahaby H.M., Ziedan E.H., Maswada H.F. 2017b. Efficacy of antifungal activity of essential oils, salts and antioxidants acids on pathogenic fungi and their application methods for controlling postharvest diseases on banana fruits. African Journal of Microbiology Research 11 (29): 1162−1170. DOI: 10.5897/AJMR2017.8607.
 
eISSN:1899-007X
ISSN:1427-4345
Journals System - logo
Scroll to top