Mexico: New product to reduce post-harvest losses in lemon
The product made from yeast eliminates fungal diseases (fungal) when the fruit is in store, and extends the fruit's shelf life up to three weeks.
The research, which was developed at the Center for Genomic Biotechnology (CBG) located in Reynosa, Tamaulipas, with the support of researchers Jose Alberto Narvaez Zapata, Maria del Socorro Ramirez Gonzalez, Erika Alicia de la Cruz Arguijo, and Claudia Patricia Larralde Corona, will represent a viable alternative to promote exports, as tests showed that the formulation made from epiphytic yeast have a promising technical feasibility, good shelf life, and high biological effectiveness.
Larralde Corona said fungal diseases worldwide were controlled with chemicals which affect human health and impede their entry into foreign markets. In response, the polytechnical product will facilitate the placement of citrus in countries that apply strict quality controls.
The scientist said that currently 30 percent or more of the lemon postharvest is lost, which affects the economy of producers and restrains exports.
The development of the product was a painstaking process: researchers initially isolated more than 60 yeasts from Italian lemon, then simulated the conditions of the warehouses in climatic chamber, where they conducted osmotolerance (ability to survive in media with large amounts of sugar or salt) and thermotolerance (medium high temperature) tests.
These tests proved the potential that seven yeasts had and researchers chose four varieties to produce the briocontrol because of their properties and because they are harmless to the human body.
The specialist of the CBG said the nutrients of these yeasts worked against pathogenic fungi by eating all the food located on the surface of the fruit.
Source: jornada.unam.mx