On September 17th, researcher Luis González Candelas from the Post-Harvest Physiology, Pathology, and Biotechnology group at IATA-CSIC participated in the V Citrus Post-Harvest Conference. The event, organized by the Valencian Institute of Agrarian Research (IVIA), AgroBank, and Poscosecha.com, brought together industry professionals to analyze the challenges of citrus post-harvest and discuss innovations for the upcoming season.
González Candelas delivered a presentation titled “From Basic Research to the Horticultural Center: Metal Sequestration as a New Approach for Post-Harvest Pathogen Fungus Control.” He presented his group's work on novel strategies to control fungi responsible for diseases affecting citrus fruits after harvest.
Studies have shown that the fungus Penicillium digitatum requires specific mechanisms to obtain iron and develop within the fruit. When these mechanisms are blocked, its infection capacity is considerably reduced.
Based on these findings, the research on chelating agents—compounds that sequester metal ions and limit their availability to microorganisms—was explained. Trials have indicated that this strategy can hinder the development of P. digitatum and also shows activity against other post-harvest pathogenic fungi.
The presentation highlighted how knowledge generated from basic research can be translated into new applicable strategies for the citrus sector. The IATA-CSIC group continues to study various chelating compounds to enhance the application of this strategy under real-world fruit storage and commercialization conditions.
