Reduction of nectarine decay caused by Rhizopus stolonifer, Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium digitatum with Aloe vera gel alone or with the addition of thymol

Two nectarine cultivars ('Flavela' and 'Flanoba.) were treated with Aloe vera gel alone, or with the addition of thymol, and then inoculated with Rhizopus stolonifer, Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium digitatum. Both treatments were effective in reducing the decay incidence caused by the 3 fungi species, although the addition of thymol did not generally improve the efficacy of Aloe vera gel on reducing the infection damage. The coatings were clearly effective in reducing the postharvest ripening process of both nectarine cultivars manifested by a delay in ethylene production and respiration rate, weight loss and softening. Interestingly, these coatings showed effectiveness on reducing decay development in inoculated fruits and thus Aloe vera could be considered as natural antifungal compound and might serve as alternative of synthetic fungicides. (C) 2011 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.