MANDARIN ESSENTIAL OILS TO CONTROL CITRUS GREEN MOLD (Penicillium digitatum)

• Grant number: 23/09615-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: September 01, 2023
• End date: August 31, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Crop Science
• Principal Investigator: Evandro Henrique Schinor
• Grantee: Geovana Rocha Marzochi
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Agrárias (CCA). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). Araras , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The Brazilian citrus industry stands out worldwide in the production of oranges, but it has been facing phytosanitary problems that have caused significant losses in production, with emphasis on for green mold (BV) caused by the fungus Penicillium digitatum, caused by shortening reception, shelf life, in addition to affecting fruit quality. That's why, alternative products are being increasingly sought after to control the disease. O objective of this research is to analyze new alternatives for the sustainable control of Penicillium digitatum with the use of essential oils (EO) from tangerine varieties, with the expectation to reduce the use of chemical products in post-harvest fruits. Tests will be carried out in vitro to evaluate the fungicidal effect of EO extracted from ripe fruits of three mandarin trees:Maria mandarin, Murcott tangor and Late tangerine in concentrations of 2; 4; 8; 16 and 32 (¼L mL-1) including the positive control imazalil (200 mL 100 L-1) and the negative control (0 ¼L mL-1), aiming the continuation of mycelial growth, sporulation and conidial germination of the fungus P. digital. The in vitro assays will be treated in a completely randomized design in 3x5+2 factorial scheme. later, another experiment will be treated to evaluate the effect curative and preventive, for each OE, using the best results of the fungus walking in vitro, in mature fruits inoculated with the fungus, consisting of three treatments, added with a positive control imazalil (200 mL 100 L-1), a negative control (0 ¼L mL-1) and the non-inoculated control, also in a completely randomized design in a scheme factorial 6x5x2.