LAUSR

Abstract Papaya (Carica papaya L.) suffers deterioration, mainly due to anthracnose caused by Colletotrichum fructicola, during postharvest preservation and export periods. The conventional use of synthetic fungicides, to reduce this disease, has been substituted in recent years by alternative methods that are friendlier to human health and the environment. Studies have demonstrated that a combination of these alternative systems is more effective in controlling pathogen development than the same ones used individually. For this reason, hot water dipping followed by coating with different chitosan concentrations has been studied to decrease or substitute the utilization of fungicides during the papaya postharvest period. Results showed that papayas treated with hot water dipping (49 °C for 20 min) and chitosan coating at 20 g L−1 combination presented a higher reduction in anthracnose than papayas treated only with hot water dipping and fruit treated with prochloraz. In addition, this combined treatment reduced maturity symptoms throughout storage, increased the shelf-life period, and did not have a negative effect on sensory characteristics in contrast to chemical treatments and hot water dips applied individually. These results prompted the combination of hot water dipping and chitosan coating as a valid strategy to reduce papaya anthracnose during the postharvest period.