Effect of ozone in combination with antagonistic yeast on postharvest gray mold rot incidence in strawberry fruits

In order to search for an alternative to synthetic fungicides for the control of postharvest decay of strawberry fruits, the potential of using ozone in combination with Cryptococcus laurentii (Ku?erath) Skinner for the control of postharvest gray mold rot incidence of strawberry fruits was investigated. The results showed that ozone signi?cantly decreased the incidence of gray mold rot in strawberry fruits and inhibited the growth of B. cinerea in vivo and in vitro. After three-day storage, the gray mold rot incidence of strawberry fruits that treated with the combination of ozone and C. laurentii was 29.63%, which was significantly lower than that of the control (70.37%) or the treatments of ozone and C. laurentii as single use (48.15% and 44.44% respectively). The population of the yeast in wounded fruits increased remarkably after inoculation at 20℃ or 4℃, and it remained at a high level. The treatments of ozone alone or in combination with C. laurentii resulted in a transient increase in the activities of polyphenoloxidase, peroxidase, phenylalanine ammonialyase, catalase, lipoxgenase and b-1,3-glucanase, and restrained the increase in the activity of lipoxgenase in strawberry fruits.