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Inhibitory Activity of Natamycin Combinedwith Citric Acid on Postharvest Botrytis cinerea in Grape Berries

SUI Sha-sha,LI Zhi-wen,ZHANG Ping,NONG Shao-zhuang   

  1. 1. School of Food Science and Technology, Dalian Polytechnic University, Dalian 116000, China;
    2. Tianjin Key Laboratory of Postharvest Physiology and Storage of Agricultural Products, National Engineering and Technology Research Center for Preservation of Agricultural Products, Tianjin 300384, China
  • Online:2013-12-25 Published:2014-01-03

Abstract:

The synergistic inhibitory activity of natamycin and citric acid on Botrytis cinerea was evaluated by the methods
of filter paper disc, growth rate, hanging drop slide and living damage inoculation, respectively. The results indicated that the
inhibitory activity of natamycin in combination with citric acid on postharvest B. cinerea was higher significantly (p < 0.05) than
that observed with individual treatments. The best inhibitory effect was achieved by using 0.5–1.0 g/L natamycin in combination
with 1.0 g/L citric acid and under this condition, the inhibition of mycelium growth and spore germination were increased
by 69.93% and 65.61% over citric acid alone and by 33.24% and 54.40% over natamycin alone. The EC50 (50% inhibition
concentration) of natamycin combined with 1.0 g/L citric acid was 435.15 mg/L for mycelium growth and 491.83 mg/L for spore
germination. Moreover, the growth of disease spots on grape berries artificially wounded and inoculated with B. cinerea was
inhibited significantly. In summary, the combination of natamycin with citric acid at appropriate concentrations exhibits
synergistic inhibitory activity on postharvest infection of B. cinerea in grape berries and can be a potential antimicrobial
agent for the preservation of postharvest grape berries.

Key words: natamycin, Botrytis cinerea, citric acid, inhibitory activity