Sun's role in mitigating fungal disease of mango fruit.

Sun's role in mitigating fungal disease of mango fruit.Mango fruits play host to some economically damaging fungal diseases, especially during ripening and storage; but mango growers and suppliers have a new ray of hope...in the form of sunlight. The occurrence of stem end rot (SER) during storage means major losses for mango fruit growers and suppliers. A new research explores sunlight's role in cultivating a beneficial mix of microorganisms that help mitigate SER. The new research explores the role of sunlight in boosting the levels of beneficial microorganisms in mango fruits to combat stem end rot. The researchers showed that high sunlight exposure in an orchard has the effect of turning the mango's skin red. Mango fruits with less sunlight exposure remain green. Using a novel deep sequencing technique, they studied the dynamics in the microbial and fungal community inside the stem end tissues of both red and green mango fruits during storage. They found that both fungal and bacterial community changes were dependent on fruit peel color, storage duration, and storage temperature.