title: Efficacy of salicylic acid to reduce Penicillium expansum inoculum and preserve apple fruits.
abstract: Apples are among the most commonly consumed fruits worldwide. Blue mold (Penicillium expansum) is one of the major diseases in apples postharvest, leading to wide use of fungicides and the search for alternative products to control the pathogen. In this context, this study aimed to evaluate the potential of salicylic acid (SA) as an alternative product to control blue mold and to preserve the physicochemical characteristics of apple fruit postharvest. The antimicrobial effect of SA was determined both in vitro and in situ, by directly exposing conidia to solutions of different concentrations SA or by inoculating the fruit with P. expansum and treating them curatively, eradicatively, or preventively with a 2.5mM SA solution. The physiological effects of SA on fruit were determined by quantifying the weight loss, total soluble solids content, and titratable acidity. In addition, the accumulation of SA in the fruit was determined by HPLC. SA (2.5mM) inhibited 100% of fungal germination in vitro and also controlled blue mold in situ when applied eradicatively. In addition, HPLC analysis demonstrated that SA did not persist in apple fruit. SA also maintained the physicochemical characteristics of fruit of different quality categories. Thus, SA may be an alternative to the commercial fungicides currently used against P. expansum.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Crop Science Department, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88040-900 Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Electronic address: neto.acrn@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Argus Cezar
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: da Rocha Neto
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Crop Science Department, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88040-900 Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Caroline
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Luiz
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Morphogenesis and Plant Biochemistry, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88040-900 Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil.
authors.forename: Marcelo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Maraschin
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Plant Pathology, Crop Science Department, Federal University of Santa Catarina, 88040-900 Florianópolis, Santa Catarina, Brazil. Electronic address: robson.piero@ufsc.br.
authors.forename: Robson Marcelo
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Di Piero
mesh_terms: D005516:Food Microbiology / Q000379:methods*; D005638:Fruit / Q000382:microbiology*; D005659:Fungicides, Industrial / Q000494:pharmacology; D027845:Malus / Q000382:microbiology*; D010407:Penicillium / Q000187:drug effects; D020156:Salicylic Acid / Q000494:pharmacology*; D013172:Spores, Fungal / Q000187:drug effects
chemical_list: D005659:Fungicides, Industrial; D020156:Salicylic Acid
keywords: Apple; Penicillium expansum; Postharvest; Salicylic acid; Salicylic acid (PubChem CID: 338)