First Record of Mucor piriformis as a Cause of Strawberry Fruit Rot in Iraq and the Effectiveness of Some Safe Strategies in Controlling It and Preventing the Production of Mycotoxins in Stored Fruit: Implications for Food Safety and Postharvest Qual

The most prevalent and frequent fungus was M. piriformis. Several isolates showed high virulence in causing the disease. Molecular analyses corroborated the morphological identification of M. piriformis (Kr۱Ms). The corresponding genomic sequences were deposited in the NCBI database under accession number PZ۲۸۱۹۶۹.۱. Importantly, GC-MS analysis confirmed that none of the M. piriformis isolates produced detectable mycotoxins, suggesting that the primary food safety concern associated with this pathogen is spoilage-related quality deterioration rather than mycotoxin contamination. The storage experiment showed that the infection rate in the first week was ۰.۰۰% with treatments including gelatin (Je), coriander extract (Cs), calcium propionate (Cp), beeswax (Bw), the combination treatment of bacteria and yeast with gelatin (Sc+Ld+Je), and the integrated treatment (Sc+Ld+Je+Cs+Cp+Path), compared with the control treatments, which reached ۱۰۰%. The results of the second week showed the superiority of the integrated treatment (Sc+Ld+Je+Cs+Cp+Path), yielding an infection rate of ۰.۰۰%, in contrast to the control treatments, which exhibited a ۱۰۰% infection rate. None of these factors showed efficiency or efficacy in reducing infection during the third week, as the highest infection percentage reached ۹۳.۷۵% in the pathogen-only treatment, whereas the lowest disease severity was recorded in the integrated treatment, reaching ۴۳.۷۵%. These findings demonstrate that integrated biological and natural control strategies can effectively extend the shelf life and maintain the food quality of stored strawberries for up to ۱۴ days, with significant implications for reducing food waste and ensuring food safety in the fresh produce supply chain.

کلیدواژه ها:

Fragaria ananassa ، Fruit rot ، Mucor piriformis ، Mycotoxins ، Food safety ، biological control Iraq