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Postharvest Fungi: Control of Fungal Diseases in Fruit and Vegetables
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Postharvest Fungi: Control of Fungal Diseases in Fruit and Vegetables

A special issue of Journal of Fungi (ISSN 2309-608X). This special issue belongs to the section "Fungi in Agriculture and Biotechnology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 30 April 2026 | Viewed by 277

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Lucia Landi

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences, Marche Polytechnic University, Via Brecce Bianche, 60131 Ancona, Italy
Interests: physiological processes in plant pathogen interaction; functional genomic; comparative genomics evolution; mycorrhizal fungi; postharvest disease
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Fungi-induced postharvest diseases are the principal causes of fruit and vegetable loss and waste. Infected harvests present a potential health risk, since some decaying fungi produce mycotoxins that are hazardous to human health. The spread of postharvest fungal pathogens and the emergence of diseases is facilitated by human practises and global trade. Therefore, the early detection and identification of harmful fungi is of maximum importance for reducing the associated agricultural losses. To prevent or reduce postharvest disease, synthetic fungicide is commonly applied. However, alternative strategies, including biological control, natural compounds, physical technologies or dsRNA application are emerging as novel, sustainable methods, differing from traditional chemical pesticides. In addition, the induction of host defences in fruits and vegetables by biotic and abiotic inducers confers protection toward a broad spectrum of postharvest rot pathogens, giving them a central role in integrated disease management strategies. It can thus be seen that the molecular basis underlying the induction of host defences is an important aspect in postharvest disease control.

To provide recent advances in postharvest disease control in fruit and vegetables, we encourage the submission of all related topics, in reviews, articles, or perspective formats, for publication in this Special Issue.

Prof. Dr. Lucia Landi
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Fungi is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • alternative treatments
  • control diseases
  • fruit and vegetables decay
  • fungal detection
  • induced resistance
  • mycotoxin
  • natural compounds
  • pathogenic fungi
  • physiological factors

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

19 pages, 1714 KB  
Article
The Influence of Nitrogen on Culturable Phyllosphere Microorganisms and the Incidence of Botrytis cinerea in Postharvest Leafy Vegetables
by Viktorija Vaštakaitė-Kairienė, Darius Jermala, Alma Valiuškaitė, Kristina Bunevičienė, Armina Morkeliūnė and Neringa Rasiukevičiūtė
J. Fungi 2025, 11(11), 787; https://doi.org/10.3390/jof11110787 (registering DOI) - 2 Nov 2025
Abstract
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), pak choi (Brassica rapa), and basil (Ocimum basilicum) were grown in hydroponic NFT systems under four nitrate levels (80–180 mg L−1 N). We measured natural microbial contamination by plating nutrient-solution samples and leaf [...] Read more.
Lettuce (Lactuca sativa), pak choi (Brassica rapa), and basil (Ocimum basilicum) were grown in hydroponic NFT systems under four nitrate levels (80–180 mg L−1 N). We measured natural microbial contamination by plating nutrient-solution samples and leaf washes to obtain colony-forming unit (CFU) counts of bacteria and fungi. Separately, postharvest leaves were artificially inoculated with Botrytis cinerea and stored at 22 °C or 4 °C for 7 days to assess gray mold. In lettuce, high N (180 mg L−1) markedly increased culturable microbial loads in both solution and leaves, whereas pak choi microbial counts remained low at all N levels. Basil showed a non-linear response: CFU counts peaked at moderate N (120 mg L−1) and were lower at both deficit and excess N. At 22 °C, gray mold severity in pak choi increased with N; leaves fertilized at N150–180 suffered about 1.5–2 times greater lesion area than those at N80. By contrast, lettuce exhibited the worst decay under N deficiency: N80 leaves developed the largest lesions by 4–7 DPI, while moderate N (120–150 mg L−1) minimized disease progression. Basil was highly susceptible under warm storage: all N levels reached near-total decay by 7 days, though N120 delayed early infection slightly. Refrigeration (4 °C) greatly suppressed lesion development in lettuce and pak choi, although high-N pak choi still showed ~20–30% more infected area than low-N after 7 days. Basil, however, suffered chilling injury at 4 °C, and all refrigerated basil leaves decayed severely (regardless of N). These results indicate crop-specific nutrient and storage strategies: avoid excessive N in pak choi, maintain balanced N in lettuce, and handle basil with non-chilling methods to reduce postharvest gray mold. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Postharvest Fungi: Control of Fungal Diseases in Fruit and Vegetables)
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