Location: Physiology and Pathology of Tree Fruits Research
Project Number: 2094-30600-001-013-T
Project Type: Trust Fund Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Aug 1, 2025
End Date: Jun 30, 2027
Objective:
1. Determine if natamycin is compatible with other postharvest fungicides.
2. Evaluate whether natamycin works better alone or in combination with other postharvest fungicides for reducing losses from Mucor rot.
3. Evaluate the effects of natamycin applied to inoculated pears on a commercial packing line.
4. Determine optimal methods for applying natamycin to pears on commercial pear packing lines.
Approach:
This project will use complementary approaches to research commercial pear industry solutions for Mucor rot management. Briefly, plate assays will be used to determine the in vitro compatibility of natamycin with other commercially available postharvest chemistries. Additionally, co-applications of natamycin with other postharvest chemistries to Mucor rot inoculated pears will determine potential additive benefits of multiple chemistries. Thirdly, efficacy of natamycin to mitigate Mucor rot inoculated pears in a commercial setting will be evaluated using a commercial packing line, with experimental set-up simulating two industry standard packing approaches - commit-to-pack and pre-size. Finally, combining outcomes from experimentation described above, a fourth project will validate optimized strategies in a commercial setting.