Postharvest Management of Green Mold of Citrus with Medicinal and
Aromatic Plants
Subash Subedi1*, Sundarman Shrestha2, Arjun Kumar Shrestha2, Sarswati Neupane1 and Jiban
Shrestha1
1Nepal Agricultural Research Council, Nepal
2Institute of Agriculture and Animal Sciences, Rampur, Chitwan, Nepal
*Corresponding Author: subedi.subash1@gmail.com
Abstract
The efficacy of water extracts and essential oils of five locally available medicinal and aromatic plants viz. ginger (zingiber officinale Rosc), garlic (Allium sativum L.), lemongrass (Cymbopogon flexuosus Stud), Japanese mint (Mentha arvensis L.) and holy basil (Ocimum sanctum Linn.) were in vitro evaluated against the fungus Penicillium digitatum Sacc. and the green mold disease of citrus fruits (in vivo) at central laboratory of IAAS, Rampur, Chitwan during the winter season of 2007. This experiment was conducted in completely randomized design with five replications. Extracts were either tested alone, or in combination with vegetable (mustard) cooking oil or bee wax at different concentrations using mandarin fruit cultivar (local Suntala). Treated fruits were stored at 15 ± 1oC and 90-95 % relative humidity for 15 days. Further experimentation was carried out by lowering the concentration levels of the extract. All the extracts of various concentrations were effective as compared to control in inhibiting the growth and development of Penicillium digitatum Sacc. However the most effective one was lemongrass oil in the management of green mold disease of citrus. A markedly increased ability of extracts was observed when extracts were used with bee wax in checking green mold disease of citrus fruits. The treatment comprising lemongrass oil and mint oil even at lower concentration level (0.01-0.04%) was also found equally effective as that of the fungicide treatment in controlling green mold on mandarin oranges.
Int. J. Grad. Res. Rev. 2(1): 1-8
