Postharvest disease management of kiwifruit.

Supervisor: Prof. Paolo Ermacora

Kiwifruit belongs to the genus Actinidia (Actinidiaceae) and is a rich source of antioxidants vitamin C and also an excellent source of potassium and folate. Postharvest fungal pathogens are considered the main cause of losses of fresh fruits and vegetables at the postharvest, distribution, and consumption levels. A postharvest disease of kiwifruit caused by Cadophora luteo-olivacea, characterized by a pitting of the skin, has been reported in most Italian packaging houses during cold storage. The skin pitting implies little brown spots on damaged fruit. After keeping the symptomatic fruits at room temperature for a few days the spots become hollow without increasing in diameter and if the skin is removed, a thin suberose layer can be seen. The aim of this project is the identification of a potential postharvest biocontrol agent for the postharvest decay due to Cadophora luteo-olivacea and improve the commercial storage of kiwifruit. Another objective of this project is to investigate the mechanisms of antagonistic interactions between antagonist and fruit pathogen.

Biography and Contacts:

Farwa Jabeen was born in 31/08/1994 in Sialkot, Pakistan. In 2016 she earned BSc (Hons.) in Plant Sciences from University of Gujrat and in 2019 she obtained MSc (Hons.) in Agricultural Sciences and Plant Stress Physiology from the Government College University, Faisalabad, Pakistan where she carried out her thesis work focused on Zinc-lysine mediated alterations in morpho-physiological and ionomics of sunflower under cadmium stress. In November 2019 she started the doctoral course at the PhD school of “Agriculture Science and Biotechnology” at the University of Udine.

Jabeen.farwa@spes.uniud.it