Holistic management of mango post-harvest diseases

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is considered one of the most popular fruits among millions of people. Symptomatological and taxonomical observations revealed the occurrence of major post-harvest fungal diseases viz., anthracnose, stem end rot, black rot and rhizopus rot. Pathogenicity and diagnosis revealed the incitants of anthracnose stem end rot, black rot and rhizopus rot confirmed as Colletotrichum gloeosporioides, Botryodiplodia theobromae, Aspergillus niger and Rhizopus stolonifer, respectively. Effect of pre-cooling results revealed that the fruits treated with force air pre-cooling at 15°C for 8 hours proved to be the most effective with respect to per cent disease incidence of anthracnose and stem end rot in Kesar variety. With a view to find out ecofriendly management tactic in Kesar variety the results revealed that the fruits treated with neem leaf extract significantly proved most effective, followed by hot water treatment 52°C for 10 minutes with respect to per cent disease incidence of anthracnose and stem end rot. The minimum per cent disease incidence of stem end rot was found in 2 g l⁻¹ KCl (28.78%) treatment, followed by 0.5 g l⁻¹ KCl (43.07%), while in case of anthracnose, significantly least per cent disease incidence (10%) and its highest per cent disease reduction (75%) were recorded in fruit treated with 2.5 g l⁻¹ KCl. Among different treatments the fruits packed with neem leaves show minimum stem end rot (39.23%) and anthracnose (30.00%) disease incidence. Thus from the management studies, it is obvious that the force air pre-cooling at 15°C for 8 hours, neem leaf extract, KCl and leaf packing treatment were found effective for the management of anthracnose and stem end rot diseases incidence and increases shelf life in Kesar variety of mango.