Eco-Friendly Strategies for Postharvest Management of Blue Mold in Onion (Allium cepa L.) Using Botanical Extracts

Onion (Allium cepa L.), a member of the family Liliaceae, is widely consumed worldwide due to its flavor-enhancing qualities. It has been affected by many post-harvest diseases on large scale. Post-harvest handling of onion is the main issue throughout the world. Fungal diseases cause great loss in field as well as after harvesting. Blue mold of onion is one of the destructive diseases in storage. The Experiment was conducted in Plant Pathology laboratory at Balochistan Agriculture College, Quetta to isolate the fungal pathogen and application of six Plant extracts viz., Garlic, Pepper, Turmeric, Mustard, Ginger and Neem along were used in vitro and in vivo conditions at different concentrations of 5, 10 and 15% however control/ untreated Petri plates were kept with only media but without plant extract and onion bulbs were kept untreated in the control group. After statistical analysis results showed that garlic at all concentrations, turmeric as well mustard at 15% and ginger at 10% and 15% significantly inhibited the mycelial colony growth of Penicillium exalicum under invitro condition and Furthermore in vivo findings revealed that garlic, mustard and ginger at all applied concentration reduced the rottening % on onion bulbs. Moreover, pepper showed least significant control against pathogen both invitro and in vivo conditions, while in control mycelial growth of pathogen and rot severity % on onion was higher as compare to all plant extracts used during experimentation. Thus, this study demonstrates that botanical extracts, particularly garlic, mustard, and ginger, offer an eco-friendly strategy for the postharvest management of blue mold in onion.