Postharvest decay caused by quiescent fungi represents a risk for fresh fruit export. Nevertheless, the number of melon (Cucumis melo) products registered for postharvest treatment is still very low. The objective of this work was to evaluate the influence of three fungicides (thiabendazole, azoxystrobin and imazalil at 30, 10 and 400 g a.i/100 l) on mycelium growth and sporulation of Fusarium pallidoroseum and to compare the effect of these fungicides combined with low temperatures for the control of postharvest fungal pathogens on melons. Thiabendazole and imazalil inhibited 100% of fungal mycelial growth and sporulation while azoxystrobin inhibit 87.09%. Refrigeration inhibited lesion development in melon treated with fungicides and inoculated with 10(7)conidia/ml suspension. All tested fungicides were effective to control the incidence of post-harvested fungal pathogens at room temperature for up to six days of storage. Thiabendazole and azoxystrobin were efficient in reducing severity and lesion size for up to 12 and 16 days of storage, respectively. Under refrigeration, better control was obtained with thiabendazole and imazalil. When withdrawn from a refrigerated environment, the fungicides were able to maintein control until day 20. For severity, azoxystrobin and imazalil differed from the control; for lesion size, only azoxystrobin differed. During 34 days in refrigerated storage, the fungicides controlled equally for incidence and lesion size while for severity, a better control was obtain with thiabendazole and imazalil. Imazalil had the best control of spontaneous lesions that occurred on fruit peciolous.
melon; Fusarium pallidoroseum; chemical control
