Eco Friendly Management of Damping-off of Solanaceous Crops Caused by Pythium Species

Activity of Clove Oil and Chitosan Nanoparticles Incorporated PVA Nanocomposite Against Pythium aphanidermatum

The loss of fresh produces owing to the microbial infestation is a major challenge to the global food industry. The drastic food loss caused mainly by the fungal attack demands the need for development of active packaging materials with antimicrobial properties. Many studies have already been reported on the applications of polymers like polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) engineered with antimicrobial components as active antifungal packaging materials. In the current study, material properties of PVA alone, PVA incorporated with chitosan nanoparticles (PCS), clove oil (PCO), and their combination (PCSCO) have been studied for its microbial barrier and antifungal properties. All the developed films were characterised by the XRD and FTIR analysis, which confirmed the molecular interactions among the individual components of the nanocomposite. At the same time, the bionanocomposite PCSCO was found to have low moisture content and film solubility indicating its suitability for the modified atmosphere packaging applications. In addition, the presence of chitosan nanoparticles and clove oil was found to provide the microbial barrier properties to the PCS, PCO, and PCSCO films. The PCSCO film was further demonstrated to have superior antifungal activity against the selected Pythium aphanidermatum. The results of the study indicate the potential application of developed nanocomposite film as a promising antifungal packaging material.

Pythium Damping-Off and Root Rot of Capsicum annuum L.: Impacts, Diagnosis, and Management

Capsicum annuum L. is a significant horticulture crop known for its pungent varieties and used as a spice. The pungent character in the plant, known as capsaicinoid, has been discovered to have various health benefits. However, its production has been affected due to various exogenous stresses, including diseases caused by a soil-borne pathogen, Pythium spp. predominantly affecting the Capsicum plant in younger stages and causing damping-off, this pathogen can incite root rot in later plant growth stages. Due to the involvement of multiple Pythium spp. and their capability to disperse through various routes, their detection and diagnosis have become crucial. However, the quest for a point-of-care technology is still far from over. The use of an integrated approach with cultural and biological techniques for the management of Pythium spp. can be the best and most sustainable alternative to the traditionally used and hazardous chemical approach. The lack of race-specific resistance genes against Pythium spp. can be compensated with the candidate quantitative trait loci (QTL) genes in C. annuum L. This review will focus on the epidemiological factors playing a major role in disease spread, the currently available diagnostics in species identification, and the management strategies with a special emphasis on Pythium spp. causing damping-off and root rot in different cultivars of C. annuum L.