Postharvest Biological Control

The use of single antagonistic yeasts and bacteria to control postharvest diseases expanded globally during the 1990s into the 2000s with multiple antagonists being commercialized as postharvest biocontrol agents. The advent of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequencing and molecular identification of microorganisms completely changed our perspective on potential postharvest biological control antagonists and their microecology. Breeding fewer bitter plants involved the development of plants with a reduced content of bitter compounds such as alkaloids and phenolics that are resistant compounds against postharvest plant pathogens. It was suspected early on that there were “natural” postharvest biocontrol systems that exist on the surfaces of fruits and vegetables. Synthetic fungicides are predominantly used to control postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables. Even after over 35 years of research on the biological control of postharvest diseases, a very small number of products are used as alternatives to synthetic fungicides.