Efficacy of ginger oil and extract combined with gum arabic on anthracnose and quality of papaya fruit during cold storage.

Effect of 2.0 % ginger oil (GO) and 1.5 % ginger extract (GE) in combination with 10.0 % gum arabic (GA) was evaluated for the postharvest control of anthracnose and maintaining quality of Eksotika II papaya fruit during storage at 12 ± 1 °C and 80-85 % RH. Antifungal compounds present in GO and GE were analyzed using gas chromatography and GO was found to contain α-pinene, 1, 8-cineole and borneol, while only borneol was present in GE due to different extraction methods applied. The highest antifungal activity was shown in 2.0 % GO combined with 10 % GA, which significantly (P < 0.05) inhibited spore germination by 93 %. Based on the physicochemical properties tested, 2.0 % GO combined with 10 % GA significantly delayed the ripening of papaya. These results show that 10.0 % GA combined with 2.0 % GO is an effective postharvest biofungicide for papaya.