Volatile Organic Compounds Produced by Microbes in the Management of Postharvest Diseases of Fruits

Abstract

Nutritional security can be achieved only with the proper intake of fruits and vegetables. However, on an average 30% of the fruit produce are lost between harvest and consumption due to post-harvest spoilage. About 30–40% of total fruits production is lost after harvest. Main causes of postharvest loss include lack of temperature management, rough handling, poor packaging material, and lack of education about the need to maintain quality. There are many ways in which the post-harvest spoilage is managed. Use of chemicals in post-harvest management has direct effect on the consumers and there is a need for alternative strategies. Use of microbial biological control agents have been successfully adopted for soil borne diseases. Registration and biosafety issues make it difficult to use them against post-harvest diseases. Use of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from bioagents for the post-harvest management provides an opportunity to explore the use of bioagents without having contact with fruits. Many classes of chemicals are produced as volatiles by microbial agents. This chapter describes the potential of VOCs in managing post-harvest diseases, their characterization and identification, biosynthesis, volatiles reported from bacterial, fungal and yeast bioagents, success stories of their use as potential bioagents.