The Plant Pathology Journal Note Open Access Effects of Ionizing Radiation on Postharvest Fungal Pathogens

Postharvest diseases cause losses in a wide variety of crops around the world. Irradiation, a useful nonchem-ical approach, has been used as an alternative treat-ment for fungicide to control plant fungal pathogens. For a preliminary study, ionizing radiations (gamma, X-ray, or e-beam irradiation) were evaluated for their antifungal activity against Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium expansum, and Rhizopus stolonifer through mycelial growth, spore germination, and morphological analysis under various conditions. Different fungi exhibited dif-ferent radiosensitivity. The inhibition of fungal growth showed in a dose-dependent manner. Three fungal pathogens have greater sensitivity to the e-beam treat-ment compared to gamma or X-ray irradiations. The inactivation of individual fungal-viability to different irradiations can be considered between 3-4 kGy for B. cinerea and 1-2 kGy for P. expansum and R. stolonifer based on the radiosensitive and radio-resistant species, respectively. These preliminary data will provide criti-cal information to control postharvest diseases through radiation