Assessing Copper-Alternative Products for the Control of Pre- and Postharvest Citrus Anthracnose

Citrus production is worldwide threatened by Colletotrichum spp., causal agents of pre- and postharvest anthracnose. The recent limitation on the use of copper-based antimicrobials, due to its demonstrated noxious effect on the environment, makes the control of this pathogen difficult. Thus, alternative products able to reduce/phase out copper in organic citrus farming are needed. In this study, the efficacy of 11 commercial alternative products were evaluated in vitro, in growth chamber, in open field and in postharvest environments. In vitro, mineral fertilizers, basic substances, essential oils, plant defense stimulators and biological control agents were able to inhibit the mycelial growth with variable efficacy. On artificially infected citrus fruit, almost all tested products significantly reduced disease incidence and severity, but with lower efficacy than copper. The efficacy of mineral fertilizers-based Kiram and Vitibiosap 458 Plus, citrus essential oil-based Prev-Am Plus and chitosan-based Biorend was confirmed in open field trials, in naturally infected citrus fruits. In these trials Biorend was the best alternative product, significantly reducing disease incidence (71% DI reduction) with better results than copper (47.5%). Field treatments reduced the incidence and severity of the disease in postharvest conditions, especially in fruits field-treated three times. Overall, selected products tested in open field can represent a good alternative to copper compounds in the view of future limitation of its use

XRF analysis searching for fingerprint elemental profile in south-eastern Sicily tomatoes

Abstract The implementation of analytical techniques able to certify food quality and origin in a fast and non-destructive way is becoming a widespread need in the agri-food sector. Among the physical non-destructive techniques, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry is often used to analyze the elemental composition of biological samples. In this study, X-ray fluorescence (XRF) elemental profiles were measured on tomato samples belonging to different geographical areas in Sicily (Italy). The purpose of this investigation was aiming to establish a protocol for in-situ measurement and analysis able to provide quality assessment and traceability of PGI agri-food products, specifically sustaining health safety and self qualifying bio-chemical signature. In detail, sampling was performed in one of the most tomato productive area of south-eastern Sicily (Pachino district), characterised by a relative higher amount of Organic Carbon and Cation Exchange Capacity, and compared with samples from other growing areas of Sicily, falling in Ragusa province and Mt. Etna region. Experimental data were analyzed in the framework of multivariate analysis by using principal component analysis and further validated by discriminant analysis. The results show the presence of specific elemental signatures associated to several characterizing elements. This methodology establishes the possibility to disentangle a clear fingerprint pattern associated to the geographical origin of an agri-food product