Anthracnose Disease Control and Postharvest Quality of Hass Avocado Stored in Biobased PLA/PBAT/Pine Essential Oil/Chitosan Active Packaging Nets

For sale in the domestic market, Hass avocados are kept in non-biodegradable plastic nets and stored at an ambient temperature. The fungus Colletotrichum gloeosporioides can cause important losses at this stage. Consequently, formulations based on polylactic acid (PLA)/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) (PBAT) 60/40 biodegradable blends added with pine essential oil (PEO) at 10, 12, 14, and 20% and coated with 1% chitosan (CH) were used for the elaboration of nets, which were evaluated on C. gloeosporioides and Rhizopus stolonifer on nutrient media and fruit and on the ripening behavior of Hass avocados at ambient temperature. The spore germination stage of C. gloeosporioides was the most extensively damaged (78% inhibition). The incidence of anthracnose was notably reduced by almost 80% in the avocados stored in the 60/40 PLA/PBAT nets coated with 1% CH. The overall values regarding weight loss, degrees Brix, and dry matter were c.a. 23.5%, 7.5, and 24.5%, respectively. The changes in firmness, color, and CO2 production were particularly associated with the initial harvest index and storage temperature rather than with the nets. In future research, essays on nets should include evaluations at the commercial levels.

Automated summary

This study used nets made of polylactic acid/poly (butylene adipate-co-terephthalate) blends added with pine essential oil and coated with chitosan for preserving Hass avocados. The results showed that these nets significantly reduced the incidence of anthracnose without affecting the firmness, color, and CO2 production of the fruits.