School of Agricultural, Earth and Environmental Sciences

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Efficacy of enhanced freshness formulation as a novel postharvest treatment for gold kiwifruit (actinidia chinensis)
(2023) Mthembu, Sisanda Sibusiso Luyanda.; Mditshwa, Asanda.; Magwaza, Lembe Samukelo.; Tesfay, Samson Zeray .
When exporting kiwifruit, the main limiting factors are excessive fruit softening and fungal decay. Furthermore, exposing kiwifruits to low temperatures induces the mechanisms involved in the softening process. In addition, kiwifruit become much more susceptible to fungal decay as they soften, which exacerbates deterioration of kiwifruit during transit. Fruit firmness is an important criterion for the market value of kiwifruit and storage life for the wholesale and retail trade. Therefore, loss in firmness is a serious problem resulting in postharvest and economic losses. Given that cold storage alone is not enough to optimise firmness retention of kiwifruit, the current study aimed to investigate the capacity of enhanced freshness formulation (EFF) to reduce kiwifruit softening. Kiwifruits were subjected to eight weeks of storage at 0 °C and 90 % relative humidity, followed by one week at ambient storage. The efficacy of EFF to regulate the mechanisms behind the softening process such as cell wall degradation, membrane deterioration and fungal infection was evaluated. Furthermore, the efficacy of EFF to preserve bioactive compounds was also evaluated to assess the effect of this treatment on these highly appreciated quality attributes. The first study evaluated the efficacy of EFF to delay softening of kiwifruit harvested at both the mid and late maturity stage. The influence of EFF on cell wall polysaccharides (CWPs) and cell wall degrading enzymes (CWDEs) was assessed. The findings showed that EFF optimised firmness retention of kiwifruit by preserving CWPs through the suppression of CWDEs which are responsible for initiating fruit softening. Furthermore, EFF maintained fruit quality and marketability, characterised by significantly lower mass loss, total soluble solids and higher titratable acidity. The second study examined the capacity of EFF to inhibit the excessive production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) which induce membrane damage, resulting in softening and senescence. EFF treatment effectively delayed the progression of kiwifruit senescence by reducing membrane deterioration and the accumulation of ROS. The mechanism by which EFF reduced membrane damage caused by ROS was attributed to its capacity to enhance the activities of antioxidant enzymes involved in neutralising ROS and suppressing Phospholipase D which destroys membrane integrity, resulting in improved storability of treated fruit. The third study assessed the efficacy of EFF to inhibit the fungal growth of Botrytis cinerea, which one of the major postharvest pathogens of kiwifruit that contribute to excessive softening. The findings show that EFF effectively suppressed the fungal growth of Botrytis cinerea in a dose -dependent manner. The results demonstrate that EFF can serve as a potential disease control strategy for kiwifruit at the postharvest stage. The mechanism by which EFF suppressed fungal decay can be attributed to the treatment’s capacity to induce disease resistance against Botrytis cinerea, by enhancing the synthesis of secondary metabolites and the action of defence-related enzymes, thus conferring greater protection against pathogen attack. The fourth study investigated the ability of EFF to retain the antioxidant quality of kiwifruit during prolonged storage. The bioactive compounds of EFF-treated kiwifruits were effectively maintained throughout the storage period. The findings of the present study further revealed that the mechanism by which EFF optimises antioxidant retention is due to its ability to regulate enzymes involved in the synthesis and oxidation of bioactive compounds. Despite the positive results, further research on transcriptome analysis is needed to elucidate how EFF regulates softening and antioxidant enzymes.
The evaluation and quantification of the drought propagation process using satellite earth observation products.
(2022) Sukhdeo, Trisha.; Chetty, Kershani Tinisha.; Gokool, Shaeden.
Droughts can be categorized in four types namely, meteorological, agricultural, hydrological and socio-economic drought. Droughts have the potential to occur either as an isolated event, mutually exclusive event or through the progression from one form to another. The use of drought indices were recognized as an approach capable evaluating and monitoring the characteristics of the different drought types. The aim of this study is to evaluate and quantify drought characteristics as it evolves and propagates form meteorological to agricultural drought, within two climatically different regions within South Africa, namely the uMngeni Catchment and the Breede-Overberg Catchment. These areas generally have insufficient networks of ground-based observations to provide continuous and long-term data. Therefore, Satellite Earth Observation (SEO) data and Google Earth Engine (GEE) were utilized. The Standardized Precipitation Index (SPI) was selected to quantify meteorological drought, whilst the Standardized Precipitation Evapotranspiration Index (SPEI) and Vegetation Health Index (VHI) was chosen to assess agricultural drought at both of the selected sites. The methodology undertaken firstly involved validating the SEO data against in-situ data. Thereafter, historical droughts were calculated by the SPI and SPEI indices at various timescales. Assessments were then conducted to determine the applicability of satellite based drought index VHI on quantifying agricultural drought conditions. The final assessment involved conducting propagation analysis between the drought indices. The findings of this study indicated that SEO have the potential to be utilized in the collection and monitoring of drought conditions. VHI was recognized to be scale dependent index, especially when considering averaging values. The findings of this study further suggested that the uMngeni region was more susceptible to the impacts associated with meteorological droughts characteristics whilst the Breede-Overberg region was more susceptible to the impacts associated with agricultural drought characteristics. Understanding the impacts and characteristics associated with the drought propagation process may further provide theoretical knowledge that can be used to facilitate more informed disaster, water and agricultural management and mitigation strategies to be implemented. If decision makers were to only consider drought using meteorological assessments for management decisions, the resulting strategies produced may be misleading as the impacts of an agricultural drought event may still be persistent.
The evaluation of the effect of biological control agents and melatonin against fusarium oxysporum infecting potatoes.
(2023) Mbatha, Londeka Akhona.; Mbili, Nokwazi Carol.
Potatoes (Solanum tuberosum L.) are essential to the South African agricultural industry. Postharvest diseases, including Fusarium dry rot (FDR) caused by Fusarium oxysporum (S.), are detrimental to the potato industry, resulting in yield and economic losses. Currently, fungicides are the primary means of controlling the disease commercially. However, the use of synthetic chemicals has reduced their efficacy against some Fusarium strains. Therefore, there is a need for safer, more sustainable, and environmentally friendly control methods for the management of postharvest fungal diseases such as FDR. Biological control agents (BCAs) and generally regarded as safe (GRAS) products have inhibitory effects against various pathogensand can be used as alternatives to synthetic chemicals. The aim of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of biological control agents (yeast and bacteria) and melatonin, individually and in combination, against F. oxysporum in vitro and in vivo. To evaluate the efficacy of the potential BCAs, 30 isolates were obtained from the exocarps and leaves of various crops, namely, potatoes(Solanum tuberosum), sweet potatoes (Ipomoea batatas), erect prickly pear (Opuntia stricta), Ganoderma mushrooms (Ganoderma resinaceum, Ganoderma austroafricanum,) and tomatoes (Solanum lycopersicum). The isolates were screened against F. oxysporum using the streaking method. Isolates NG1, NG2, NG3, NG4, and KG1 inhibited the growth of F. oxysporum on potato dextrose agar by more than 50% and were selected for secondary screening. In the secondary screening, isolates NGI (60%) and NG2 (62%) significantly inhibited mycelial growth of F. oxysporum on PDA compared to the control. In vivo, isolates NG1 and NG2 significantly reduced the severity of FDR on inoculated ‘Sifra’ potato tubers and had disease severity percentages of 47,2% and 46,1%, respectively, compared to the untreated control. BLAST prediction identified isolate NG1 as the bacterial species Burkholderia cenocepacia (strain LMG 16656) and isolate NG2 as Bacillus amyloliquefaciens (strain MPA 1034). The efficacy of melatoninwas determined by screening six concentrations (0 M; 1 M; 10 M; 15 M; 50 M and 100M) of the phytohormone against F. oxysporum using the disc fusion method. The best- performing melatonin concentrations were selected for secondary screening and progressed to in vivo screening. Melatonin concentration of 100 M had the highest inhibition percentage (40,83%) of F. oxysporum in vitro compared to the untreated control. The second and third best concentrations were 15 M and 50 M with inhibition percentages of 35,83% and 34,17%, respectively. The efficacy of melatonin as an antifungal agent, was significantly lower in vitro compared to the in vivo results. In vivo, the ‘Sifra’ potato tubers treated with 100 M showed the lowest FDR severity of 58,57%, followed by 50 M and 15 M with disease severity percentages of 59,54% and 60,31%, respectively. Subsequently, the effects of the integration of best-performing BCAs and melatonin were evaluated. BCAs, (Burkholderia cenocepacia and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens) were integrated with six melatonin concentrations and screened against F. oxysporum in vitro and in vivo. In vitro, treatment Bamy + MEL100 had the highest mycelial growth inhibition percentage (59,92%), followed by Bamy + MEL15 and Bamy + MEL50 with mycelial growth inhibition percentages of 56,12% and 55,27%, respectively. ‘Sifra’ potato tubers treated with treatment Bamy + 100 M melatonin had the lowest disease severity of FDR of 50,61% compared to control treatment after 9 days at 25℃. Bcen + 100 M melatonin and Bamy + 50 M melatonin exhibited the disease severity percentages of 52,63% and 59,72%, respectively. Overall, tubers treated with a combination of melatonin and B. amyloliquefaciens showed less severe symptoms of FDR across all concentrations. Furthermore, the effects of the exogenous application of B. amyloliquefaciens and melatonin on the quality parameters of the potato tubers were evaluated. The treatments were administered to tubers using the dipping method and stored at ambient temperature for 14 days. The treated tubers were sampled and prepared for phenolic, protein, and ascorbic acid determination assays. The exogenous application of 100 M melatonin combined with B. amyloliquefaciens was the most effective treatment with the highest phenolic content (144,1 mg GAE/g DW), and protein content (68 mg/g DM). Tubers treated with melatonin had the highest ascorbic acid content (5,48 mg AAE/100g DM). Findings indicated that the exogenous application of melatonin and B. amyloliquefaciens do not have adverse effects on the quality parameters of potato tubers. This study demonstrated for the first time, the efficacy of melatonin as an antifungal agent against F. oxysporum causing FDR on potatoes and the effectiveness of the combination of melatonin and the antagonistic microorganism, B. amyloliquefaciens against F. oxysporum.

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