Integrated control of sweet cherry postharvest rots by Aureobasidium pullulans in combination with calcium chloride or sodium bicarbonate

Among 17 salts, calcium chloride (CC) and sodium bicarbonate (SB) were selected as the most effective against Botrytis cinerea in trials on wounded sweet cherries. The combination of CC and SB with Aureobasidium pullulans, strain L47, reduced Botrytis rot by 98 and 94%, respectively. Tests with postharvest treatments were conducted in 2000 and 2001 using CC, SB, and L47, alone or in combination. In both years, postharvest treatments gave significant reduction of rot incidence compared to the control. The combinations L47+CC and L47+SB were the most effective with a reduction of total rots ranging from 62 to 75%. CC and SB did not show any in vitro toxic effect on A. pullulans and did not modify the natural epiphytic population of yeasts, yeast-like fungi, and filamentous fungi on the fruit surface. In postharvest application, the population of the antagonist was not influenced by the presence of salts.