Dynamics and Management of Major Postharvest Fungal Diseases of Mango Fruits

Mango is one of the most popular fruit grown throughout the tropics and subtropics region of the world. It is one of the most desirable fruit in the international market because of its delicious taste and high caloric value. However, mango is affected by a number of diseases at all stages of its development, right from the plants in the nursery to the fruits in storage or transit. The mango tree and more especially the fruit is the host of a large number of pathogens among which, fungi could be major agents of fruit rot. Pre-harvest and postharvest diseases can reduce fruit quality and cause severe losses. The observable external symptoms often only become apparent after ripening, by which it is usually equated with the edibility of the fruit and causing serious losses during storage. The economic costs of such postharvest losses are higher than the field losses. The chemical based strategies have been so far dominating for management of mango diseases. However, because of the increasing concern over residual toxicity resulting from the wide spread use of synthetic fungicide and proliferation of resistance in the pathogen populations, attention has focused nonchemical strategies. The trend to explore new alternatives to increase storage life has to give priority to methods that reduce horticultural produce decay but concurrently avoid health or environmental negative impact. The most logical approach is known as integrated disease management, which is being used for few important diseases of mango. A review of the etiology and dynamics of major postharvest disease of mango are provided below as background for the various approaches that have been used to manage the diseases.