ABSTRACT
The availability of vegetables and fruits, despite their being a major source of nutrients, is limited mainly due to their perishability and losses incurred during harvesting and postharvest operations. The losses incurred from produce postharvest to consumption are termed postharvest losses, which are caused due to biotic and abiotic factors. Among them, postharvest disease development is one of the most serious factors for being aided by other primary factors and in spoiling the produce besides reducing its shelf life. Pathogens cause postharvest diseases either during storage or due to preharvest infection of the immature produce on the plant. In addition to prophylactic measures, postharvest diseases of produce are commonly managed by physical, chemical and biological methods. Among the biological methods, due to difficulties in effective control of the disease by resistance breeding, biocontrol by endophytes presents a potential option, which is discussed.
