Control of Mucor Rot and Gray Mold on Citrus Fruit

Mucor rot caused primarily by Mucor piriformis and gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea are two emerging postharvest diseases affecting stored mandarin fruit and can cause significant economic losses if left uncontrolled. The postharvest programs to be developed in this project will be based on the existing products commercially available for postharvest use on citrus fruit and thus can be readily incorporated into the existing postharvest decay control programs and implemented by packers. Results of this study will help improve overall effectiveness of postharvest decay control programs to target all major postharvest diseases, including Mucor rot and gray mold.