Research advances on the biological control of postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables with yeast

This paper discusses the approaches to the biological control of postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables with yeast, including biological effectiveness, biological mechanism, predominance and the recent research achievements of yeast used in postharvest biocontrol. The main mode of action of the yeast biocontrol agents against pathogen was considered as the competition for space and nutrients, direct parasitism and induced resistance in the host. In comparison with other antagonists, yeast biocontrol agents have shown great potential for the control of postharvest decay of fruits and vegetables, which are due to better biocontrol efficacy, producing no antibiotics. Furthermore, they can be used in combination with fungicide. Improving the biocontrol efficacy by biological engineering is the recent research field of biocontrol of postharvest diseases of fruits and vegetables with yeast. This paper also presents the problems of yeast used in postharvest biocontrol, and suggests new ideas for future research.