Oranges were collected from organic and conventional farms located in Basilicata (ltaly) to study the effect of the farming system on epiphytic microbial population on citrus fruit surface. The populations of filamentous fungi, Aurebasidium pullulans, and yeasts were higher in organic orchards without any treatment in comparison with conventional ones. Whereas, no significant differences in terms of this population were observed between conventional and organic orchards treated with copper. The effectiveness of the antagonist Aureobasidium pullulans, strain L47, in controlling green and blue moulds, was evaluated when applied in preharvest, both in preharvest and postharvest, or only on postharvest. Treated fruits were kept at 20.C for 30 days. When applied as postharvest treatment, the antagonist was more effective in controlling green and blue moulds than preharvest one.
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Techniques based on random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) and arbitrarily primed polymerase chain reaction (AP-PCR) were used to determine the genetic variability among populations of Penicillium spp. collected from ltaly and Morocco, both in orchards and packinghouses. With the tested primers, cluster analysis using UPGMA showed a higher genetic variability in P. italicum isolates than P. digitatum. The pathogen P. ulaiense, was not found among isolates collected from packinghouses and fields in Morocco.
