Fruits and vegetables accounted for 21.6 percent of total food loss in 2019, according to Food and Agriculture Organization data, ranking second - among food groups. Postharvest diseases caused by pathogenic microorganisms are the leading causes of fruit and vegetable losses. The majority of postharvest losses are caused by fungi such as Alternaria, Aspergillus, Botrytis, Colletotrichum, Diplodia, Monilinia, Penicillium, Phomopsis, Rhizopus, Mucor, and Sclerotinia. Mycotoxin contamination of fruits and vegetables, such as patulin, Alternaria toxins, ochratoxins, and others, also causes post-harvest losses.

To manage postharvest diseases, various methods have been developed, which can be broadly classified into three categories: physical (low-temperature storage, heat treatments, magnetic fields and radiation), chemical (pre- and postharvest chemical treatments), and biological (using natural plant products or antagonistic microorganisms). However, there is an urgent need to explore new and efficient methods of controlling postharvest diseases and mycotoxin contamination, as well as to uncover the underlying mechanisms of methods that have been successfully applied in production.

This Research Topic focuses on the current advances in managing postharvest diseases and mycotoxin contamination in fruits and vegetables using various methods. We welcome submissions of Original Research articles and Reviews reporting on (but not limited to):
1. Development of novel methods for postharvest disease management of fruits and vegetables;
2. Methods and mechanisms for controlling or reducing mycotoxin in postharvest fruits and vegetables;
3. Application and mechanism of biological control strategies in the management of postharvest diseases in fruits and vegetables;
4. Microbial diversity changes during the postharvest disease management of fruits and vegetables;
5. Relationship between management strategies, pathogens, and fruit and vegetable host.

We would like to thank Dr. Yang Zhang, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, for serving as the Topic Coordinator and for contributing to the preparation of the proposal for this Research Topic.

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Frontiers in Microbiology

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