Impact of endophytic microorganisms on the spoilage of freshly cut muskmelon

Abstract

At present in India, available technologies offer hardly 4-5 days shelf life in most of the fresh cut fruits, even at refrigerated storage. The recent developments and understanding of the microbiome provide the opportunity to explore new perspectives in the post-harvest biocontrol of fruit and vegetables. The quality maintenance of perishables must be prioritized but is a difficult task. It is crucial to minimize post-harvest losses in an eco-friendly manner. Therefore, endophytic study concisely addresses the importance of fruit residing beneficial microbiome to maintain and extend the post-harvest life of fruit comprising their ecological requirements. The isolates obtained during storage were screened for their enzymatic properties. The data revealed that amylase, cellulose, lipase (esterase) activity was present in majority of the isolates, indicating the role of endophytic fruit microbiome in fruit ripening and senescence changes