Alteration of post harvest diseases of mango <i>Mangifera indica</i> through production practices and climatic factors

Abstract

Mango production in Senegal takes place over the two seasons of dry and humid conditions between April and November. The increasing demand for fresh mangoes has led to an increase in land area
allocated to that crop. Mango production suffers, however, from fruit rotting due to post-harvest diseases during ripening. These diseases reduce the fruit quality and cause severe losses. A survey
was carried out in 2004 to detect fungi involved in post-harvest rot of mangoes (cv. Kent) produced in the Niayes area of Senegal in relation with the production practices and the climatic conditions. The
results showed that at first harvest during the dry season, a broader species range of fungi including Alternaria sp., Botryodiplodia theobromae, Dothiorella sp., Aspergillus niger and non-identified fungi
were responsible for mango rotting. The fruits harvested during the humid season, however, were more heavily infested but a smaller number of fungal agents were involved; Colletotrichum gloeosporioides
and secondarily Phoma mangiferae played the main role. The cultural practices played an important role on mango infection whereby orchard sanitation and particularly cleaning and pruning reduced the
infection rates. Orchards with no care, in contrast, yielded the most heavily infested mango samples. In addition, the harvest practice of inversion of fruits in soil for sap elimination increases contamination
with pathogenic fungi.