completely suppress crown rot. It appears that a much higher
concentration of chemical is required to achieve a reduction in
fungal growth in crown tissues of the fruit than in vitro. Aked
et al. (2001) showed that the effective concentrations for killing
exposed fungus are much lower than the concentration needed
when applied to the fruit. They suggested that it is difficult for the
chemical to penetrate living tissue to reach the fungal infection
sites.
CE, chitosan and HWT could be used commercially to reduce
the need for fungicides. CE might be more effective in cool storage
for short term use. Further studies should be conducted on
components of CE active against specific pathogens. Such studies
should be help to understand the mode of action of CE.
Moreover, other kinds of solvents for extraction should be considered
because each chemical component in CE is differentially
soluble in the different solvents. This knowledge could assist
the development of new strategies for the control of postharvest
diseases of banana that are less reliant on synthetic fungicides.
Acknowledgements
The authors are grateful to the Asia Development Bank
(ADB), King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi
(KMUTT), Thailand for providing the experimental facilities
and financial assistance. We are thankful to Dr. W.B. Mc Glasson,
University of Western Sydney, Australia for critical reading
of the manuscript