The use of biocontrol agents to manage postharvest decay of
fruit has been explored as an alternative to the use of synthetic
fungicides (Wilson & Wisniewski, 1989). Our results showed that
R. mucilaginosa as stand-alone treatment significantly reduced the
disease incidence of gray mold decay of strawberry fruits at 20 C.
The results reported here showed that R. mucilaginosa has potential
as a biocontrol agent for the control of postharvest gray mold decay
of strawberries. However, for general biological control acceptance
by growers, efficacy has to be comparable to the level of control provided by conventional fungicides (Obagwu & Korsten, 2003).
Achieving such high levels of control is difficult with biological
control systems including R. mucilaginosa. Therefore, it is important
to find effective methods that could increase the control efficacy of
antagonists and inhibit pathogenic spoilage.