Meyerozyma strains as biocontrol agents against postharvest phytopathogens of jackfruit ( Artocarpus heterophyllus Lam.)

AbstractJackfruit is a tropical fruit highly perishable due to phytopathogenic diseases, with up to 35% postharvest losses. Currently, the control of these diseases is sought through the use of natural alternatives such as biocontrol agents. Therefore, this work aimed to identify the phytopathogens affecting jackfruit in postharvest and to study the antagonism of Meyerozyma guilliermondii and Meyerozyma caribbica for disease control. Eight postharvest fungi were identified using morphological and molecular techniques; those with high pathogenicity were Lasiodiplodia theobromae, Rhizopus sp., and Neofusicoccum batangarum. Meyerozyma guilliermondii gave the highest mycelial inhibitions, 100, 96, and 90% against Rhizopus sp., L. theobromae, and N. batangarum, respectively. The lowest incidences of Rhizopus sp. decay were 22 and 32%, with M. guilliermondii and M. caribbica, respectively. Neofusicoccum batangarum was identified for the first time in Nayarit as a postharvest pathogen for jackfruit. Yeasts showed antagonistic effects against these phytopathogens with inhibitions higher than 68%.Keywords: Jackfruitpostharvest phytopathogensNeofusicoccum batangarumbiocontrol agentsMeyerozyma caribbicaMeyerozyma guilliermondii AcknowledgementsThis research is part of the activities of the CYTED Network 319RT0576 “Desarrollo Sostenible En Agroalimentación y Aprovechamiento de Residuos industriales (DESEAAR)”.Author contributionsConceptualization: Karla Ayón-Macias and Montserrat Calderón-Santoyo; formal analysis: Karla Ayón-Macias, José Narváez-Zapata, and Simone Damasceno-Gomes; funding acquisition: Juan Ragazzo-Sánchez, José Narváez-Zapata, and Montserrat Calderón-Santoyo; methodology: Karla Ayón-Macias and José Narváez-Zapata; project administration: Juan Ragazzo-Sánchez and Montserrat Calderón-Santoyo; validation: Juan Ragazzo-Sánchez, José Narváez-Zapata, and Montserrat Calderón-Santoyo; Writing—original draft: Karla Ayón-Macias; writing—review and editing: Karla Ayón-Macias, José Narváez-Zapata, Juan Ragazzo-Sánchez, Simone Damasceno-Gomes, and Montserrat Calderón-Santoyo. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Data availability statementNot applicable.Additional informationFundingThe authors are grateful to the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACyT) for the grant awarded to Karla Deyanira Ayón-Macías (No. 808172). This research was funded by CYTED Network 319RT0576 “Desarrollo Sostenible En 444 Agroalimentación y Aprovechamiento de Residuos industriales (DESEAAR)”.