POSTHARVEST DISEASES OF POMEGRANATE FRUITS AND THEIR CONTROL

Abstract

Pomegranate fruits are one of the most important and valuable fruits all over the world, including Egypt. In recent years, there is high increase of consumer demand of pomegranate due to its high nutritional and medical benefits. The most serious problem with pomegranate is the occurrence of fungal diseases which affected fruits, causing flower loss, premature loss and also resulting in fruit rot in orchards and postharvest storage. The objectives of this work were to: 1) survey the incidence of fruit rot diseases of pomegranate in some orchards at different governorates, packing houses and cold storage in Egypt; 2) isolation of causal pathogens involved; 3) test various environmentally acceptable control measures to reduce postharvest fruit rot.