Antifungal potential of essential oils from two varieties of Citrus sinensis (lima orange and bahia navel orange) in postharvest control of Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb.: Fr.) Vuill.

Abstract Brazil, the world’s largest citros producer, yields around 19 million tons per year and exports most part of its production as orange juice. Essential oils (EOs) extracted from leaves, fruit and flowers of many species of the genus Citrus have been widely used as the result of their promising bioactivities. The fungus Rhizopus stolonifer (Ehrenb.) Vuill., an agent which causes soft rot in fruit, has been considered one of the main factors that cause postharvest diseases, thus, leading to major economic losses in agribusiness. This research aimed at evaluating the chemical compositio...