Biocontrol strategies for the management of Colletotrichum species in postharvest fruits

Colletotrichum is an opportunistic plant pathogen able to produce anthracnose disease in a wide range of postharvest fruits. Although the management of Colletotrichum has been traditionally attempted using synthetic fungicides, their toxic effects to human health, together with the appearance of resistant strains, have stimulated the development of biocontrol strategies during last years. Here, we are reviewing for the first time all reported biocontrol strategies for the management in vivo of Colletotrichum species in postharvest fruits. Several recently-reported strategies showed high inhibitory activity and, in some cases, supressed completely the disease symptoms, improving the efficacy of commercial biocontrol agents. Most strategies focused on the management of C. acutatum, C. gloeosporioides and C. truncatum; however, other harmful clades remain completely unexplored. Although some of the best results were obtained using yeasts, no yeast strain was commercialized for the management of Colletotrichum, and there is a lack of information about yeast strains viability, toxicity and market storage conditions. The conclusions achieved in this work help to understand the current state of the research field, and reveal new insights on the development of efficient biocontrol strategies for the control of Colletotrichum species.