Management of post-harvest black mould fruit rot of pomegranate ...

Agricultural Research and Reviews Vol. 1(5), pp. 162 -165, June 2012Available online at http://www.wudpeckerresearchjournals.org/ARR2012 Wudpecker Research JournalsFull Length Research PaperManagement of post-harvest black mould fruit rot ofpomegranate (Punica granatum L.) caused byAspergillus niger (Tieghem)M. K. Khokhar and J. P. TetarwalDepartment of Plant Pathology, SKN College of Agriculture, RAU, Jobner 303329, Rajasthan.Accepted 18 April 2012Lab experiment was conducted at department of plant pathology, SKN College of Agriculture, Jobner,Jaipur, Rajasthan, during 2008 to 09, Fruits were treated with different fungicides, oils and foodpreservativesshowed effective control of the fruit rot. Bavistin (0.1%) and Indofil M-45 (0.2%) werefound to be most effective against the fruit-rot. Castor oil (4.0%) and neem oil (4.0%) were significantlyeffective in both pre-and post-inoculation treatments. KMS (Potassium metabisulphate) 0.5% andsodium benzoate (0.5%) were also found to be effective food-preservatives in reducing the severity ofthe fruit rot.Key words: Black mould, pomegranate, management.INTRODUCTIONPomegranate (punica granatum l.) is an importantfavourite fruit of tropical, sub-tropical and arid regionswith their taste and sustenance. It belongs to the familyPunicaceae and is believed to originate from the MiddleEast (Iran and adjoining countries) and spread to mosttropical and subtropical countries of the world. It isextensively cultivated in Iran, Egypt, Pakistan, Spain,Morocco, Afghanistan, India and in some place ofMyanmar, China, Japan, California, South Italy andBulgaria (Mitra et al., 1999). Pomegranate fruits are thegood sources of carbohydrates and mineral such as Ca,Fe and S and a moderate source of pectin (Waskar,2006).The pomegranate fruit suffered from several fruit rotdiseases (Kanwar and Thakur, 1973). Post-harvest blackmould fruit rot is important problem for the fruit productionthe entire world. Aspergillus rot infections begin mostcommonly in the orchard following rain during floweringand early fruit development. Similar to Alternaria fruit rot,the fungus may grow within the fruit often without externalsymptoms. However, infected fruit generally are slightlyoff-color such as a paler red and may show someyellowish to brownish-red discoloration. In the storage*Corresponding author. Email: khokharmk3@gmail.com.period of the pomegranate faced with a lot of rotdiseases. The incidence of post-harvest black mould fruitrot of pomegranate was found to be 10 to 20%. Manyfungicides are used against these diseases and thesefungicides leads to residue on the fruit. So use of the oils isimportant for the human health. This study is also importantfor human health, pomegranate storage problems,marketing and pomegranate production economy.MATERIALS AND METHODSPomegranate fruit of uniform maturity were surface sterilized withmercuric chloride solution and inoculated with pathogen by corkborer wounding method. Fungicides and their concentration testedagainst the rot of pomegranate were as follows: Fungicides- IndofilM-45 (0.2%), Bavistin 50% WP (0.1%), Captan 50% WP (0.2%),Kavach 75% WP (0.2%), Blitox-50 (0.2%); Oils- Mustard oil (4.0%),Neem oil (4.0%), Castor oil (4.0%), Soybean oil (4.0%), and linseedoil (4.0%); Food preservatives- KMS (potassium metabisulphite0.5%), sodium benzoate (0.5%), acetic acid (0.5%) and commonsalt (10.0%). The experiment was arranged in completelyrandomized design with four replications in each treatment. In thepre inoculation treatment, the fruits were first dipped in the testchemical and oils for 5 minutes and food preservatives for 10minutes and then inoculated. The interval between inoculation anddip treatment was 12 hours and 24 hours in case of foodpreservatives. While in the post-inoculation treatment, the fruitswere first inoculated (air tight jar in food preservatives) and thentreated with the chemical. Proper controls with and without teepol

163 Agric. Res. Rev.Table 1: Effect of pre-inoculation treatment with fungicides on severity of black mould fruit rot ofpomegranate fruits incubated after 3 rd and 6 th days at 25+1 0 CFungicides Concentration (%) Aspergillus nigerSeverity* (%)3 rd days afterinoculation6 th days afterinoculationIndofil M-45 0.2 4.60 6.00Bavistin 50% WP 0.1 3.75 4.25Captan 50% WP 0.2 5.20 7.00Kavach 75% WP 0.2 6.09 9.00Blitox-50 0.2 8.50 10.50Control - 10.00 20.50SEm+ - 0.15 0.26CD at 5% - 0.44 0.78*Average of four replicationsTable 2: Effect of post-inoculation treatment with fungicides on severity of black mould fruit rot ofpomegranate fruits incubated after 3 rd and 6 th days at 25+1 0 CFungicides Concentration (%) Aspergillus nigerSeverity* (%)3 rd days afterinoculationIndofil M-45 0.2 6.00 8.00Bavistin 50% WP 0.1 5.00 7.50Captan 50% WP 0.2 7.50 9.25Kavach 75% WP 0.2 8.25 10.50Blitox-50 0.2 9.00 11.50Control - 11.00 21.50SEm+ - 0.20 0.29CD at 5% - 0.58 0.87*Average of four replications6 th days afterinoculationwere also maintained. The method of inoculation of pomegranatefruits, their incubation at 25+1 0 C and the disease assessment wererecorded, formula suggested by Mayee and Datar (1986).Sum of all numerical ratingsSeverity (%) = -------------------------------------------- x 100Number of fruits assessed X Maximum disease ratingThe severity was recorded on the basis of per cent fruit area.RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONAll the fungicides were found significantly superior inreducing the disease severity as compared to control inthe pre and post inoculation treatment both in 3 rd and 6 th dayof inoculation (Table 1 and 2). Bavistin proved to be themost effective followed by Indofil M-45, Captan, Kavach andBlitox-50. Similar results were also observed by differentfungicides like Bavistin, Indofil M-45, Blitox, Captan andKavach etc. have been found effective in checking thestorage rots of citrus fruits caused by different fungalpathogen (Dar and Mukhopadhayya, 197l; Lal et al., 1981;Majumdar and Pathak, 1995; Gour and Khatri, 1995; andKumar et al., 2005). However, the severity was significantlyreduced with all the oils tried after 6 th days of inoculation(Table 3 and 4). Castor oil was significantly mosteffective followed by neem oil, linseed oil, mustard oil andsoybean tried in controlling the rot, in the pre-inoculationtreatment 6 th days after inoculation. Similar result werealso observed by Castor oil has been also reported to beeffective against several fruit rots by Pathak et al., 1971;Khatri and Godara, 1999). Efficacy of neem oil found tobe effective against rot may be due to presence ofNimbicidin an antifugal substance (Rawat, 1993) wasreported to inhibit the growth of Aspergillus niger causingfruit rots in citrus, papaya and mango. The severity wassignificantly reduced with all the food preservatives triedon 6 th day of inoculation (Table 5 and 6). However,

Khokhar and Tetarwal 164Table 3: Effect of pre-inoculation treatment with oils on severity of black mould fruit rot ofpomegranate fruits incubated after 3 rd and 6 th days at 25+1 0 COils Concentration (%) Aspergillus nigerSeverity* (%)3 rd days afterinoculation6 th days afterinoculationMustard oil 4.0 8.00 12.50Neem oil 4.0 6.50 9.50Castor oil 4.0 4.50 6.75Soybean oil 4.0 8.50 13.50Linseed oil 4.0 9.50 16.50Control - 10.50 20.00SEm+ - 0.20 0.34CD at 5% - 0.58 0.90*Average of four replicationsTepol used as solubilizing agent in each oilTable 4: Effect of post-inoculation treatment with oils on severity of black mould fruit rot ofpomegranate fruits incubated after 3 rd and 6 th days at 25+1 0 COils Concentration (%) Aspergillus nigerSeverity* (%)3 rd days afterinoculation6 th days afterinoculationMustard oil 4.0 9.50 12.50Neem oil 4.0 8.00 11.50Castor oil 4.0 5.00 7.50Soybean oil 4.0 12.50 18.50Linseed oil 4.0 10.50 17.50Control - 11.00 22.00Sem+ - 0.25 0.41CD at 5% - 0.75 1.20*Average of four replicationsTepol used as solubilizing agent in each oilTable 5: Effect of pre-inoculation treatment with food preservatives on severity of black mould fruit rot ofpomegranate fruits incubated after 3 rd and 6 th days at 25+1 0 CFood preservatives Concentration (%) Aspergillus nigerSeverity* (%)3 rd days afterinoculation6 th days afterinoculationPotassium0.5 7.50 10.30metabisulphiteSodium benzoate 0.5 9.50 11.50Acetic acid 0.5 8.00 12.00Common salt 10.0 9.50 12.50Control - 11.50 21.50SEm+ - 0.19 0.29CD at 5% - 0.57 0.87*Average of four replications

165 Agric. Res. Rev.Table 6: Effect of post-inoculation treatment with food preservatives on severity of black mould fruitrot of pomegranate fruits incubated after 3 rd and 6 th days at 25+1 0 CFood preservatives Concentration (%) Aspergillus nigerSeverity* (%)3 rd days afterinoculation6 th days afterinoculationPotassium0.5 8.50 11.00metabisulphiteSodium benzoate 0.5 9.00 11.50Acetic acid 0.5 10.00 15.50Common salt 10.0 10.50 16.50Control - 12.50 22.00SEm+ - 0.20 0.30CD at 5% - 0.57 0.85*Average of four replicationspotassium metabisulphite was significantly better overcommon salt, but was at par with sodium benzoate incontrolling the rot on 6 th days after inoculation. Similarresults were also observed by Siddiqui et al., 1987;Mehta et al., 1986 and Premi et al., 1999).ACKNOWLEDGEMENTThe authors would like to thank the Head Department ofPlant pathology and Dean, SKN college of Agriculture,Jobner, jaipur for providing necessary facilities.REFERENCESDar GN, Mukhopadhyay S (1977). Protective action of some fungicidesagainst apple rot. Current Sci. 46: 278-279.Gour VK, Khatri NK (1995). Fungicidal management of fruit rot in datepalm. Indian J. of Myco. and Plant Path.. 25: 135.Kanwar ZS, Thakur DP (1973). Some new fruit rots of pomegranate inHaryana. Sci and Culture. 36: 274-276.Khatri NK, Godara SL (1999). Support Resource Material RefresherCourse on ‘Management of Post-Harvest Disease of Fruits’. 9-21August, 1999. Academic Staff College Cum Distance EducationCentre, RAU, Bikaner, ASC Publication, 8: 227.Kumar MKP, Nargund VB, Basha CRJ (2005). Effect of noveltreatments on post harvest diseases of mango (Mangifera indica L.).Mysore J. of Agri Sci. 39: 474-479.Lal B, Arya A, Rai RN (1981). A new soft-rot of ber caused byPhomopsis natsume and its chemical control. Indian Phytopath. 34:361-363.Majumdar VL, Pathak VN (1995). Control of fruit rot of guava bychemicals. Indian J. Myco. and Plant Path. 25: 135.Mayee CD, Datar VV (1986). Phytopathmetry Tech. Bull. I (SpecialBulletin-3). Maradhawada Agricultural University. Prabhani, pp. 55.Mehta N, Sandooja JK, Madaan RL, Yamdagni R (1986). Role ofdifferent chemicals in mango malformation and related physiologicalfactors. Pesticides. 20: 17-18.Mitra SK, Farooq AA, Sadhu MK (1999). Tropical Horti : NayaPrakashan, Kolkata, 1: 338-343.Pathak VN, Goyal JP, Sharma HC (1971). Screening trial for control ofDiplodia and Rhizopus rots of mango fruits. Plant Dis. Repo. 55: 752.Premi BR, Maini SB, Sethi V (1999). Effect of steeping preservation inthe quality of Aonla fruits during storage. Indian J. Food Sci.Technol., 36: 244-247.Rawat NS (1993). Neem products and their pesticidal characteristics.Everyman's Sci,. 28: 194-199.Siddiqui S, Sandooja JK, Mehta N, Yamadagni R (1987). Biochemicalchanges during malformation in mango cultivars as influenced byvarious chemicals. Pesticides. 21: 17-19.Waskar DP (2006). Pomegranate (Punica granatum). Advances in AridHorti, Vol. II, International Book Distributing Company, Lucknow. pp.375-394.