Sandalwood Essential Oil (SEO) Readily Inhibits Colletotrichum gloeosporioides-Mediated Anthracnose in Post-Harvest Stored Mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. ‘Keitt’)

Mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. ‘Keitt’) is one of the core fruit delicacies produced by China. During the post-harvest storage span, the fungal pathogen colletotrichum gloeosporioides readily invades the fruits and leads to a significant overall yield loss. In recent years of development, the exploitation of naturally occurring fungitoxic compounds such as Sandalwood Essential Oil (SEO) has been useful in tackling various fungal species. This study demonstrates the potential of SEO as part of a storage protection strategy against C. gloeosporioides-induced post-harvest anthracnose. SEO displayed a relatively higher mycelial growth inhibition rate when compared to various other essential oils. Furthermore, the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), Minimum Fungicidal Concentration (MFC), and EC50 (Half maximal effective concentration) of SEO were determined to be 2000, 2500, and 610.38 μL/L, respectively. Moreover, the chitosan glutamate-SEO emulsion controlled the anthracnose spread for several days by multiple folds at ½ MIC, MIC, and 2 MIC concentrations. These results strongly support the potential for large-scale production and application of SEO emulsions by agrochemical firms and post-harvest storage facilities handling Keitt mangoes.