Post Harvest disease management of fresh produced with innovative and eco–friendly solutions

Managing postharvest diseases in fruits and vegetables is essential for ensuring global food security. Traditional chemical fungicides are increasingly being supplemented or replaced by innovative approaches, including essential oils, antifungal edible coatings, and biocontrol agents. Biocontrol agents act through mechanisms like competition, biofilm formation, mycoparasitism, and resistance induction. Emerging strategies involve endophytic microorganisms and integrating microbial communities to support biocontrol agent establishment. Essential oils, with their antimicrobial and eco-friendly properties, are gaining prominence, though challenges like low stability and solubility require advanced formulations. Techniques such as biofumigation, coatings, and encapsulation enhance the effectiveness of essential oils. Combining biocontrol agents with essential oils or coatings offers synergistic benefits, promoting an integrated approach to postharvest disease.