1.2.2 Fruit and Vegetables1.2.2.1 CultivationThe many sources of contamination are linked to the growth environment: soil and atmospheric microflora, microbiological quality of the water used for irrigation or watering, dispersion by the rain propagated by the washing or projection of soil particles, horticultural processes, insect movement (e.g., plant lice, mites, worms, etc.). Many studies have been made of the microflora associated with vegetation above and below ground level. During the past 30 years, especially since the 1970s, vegetative surfaces have been most frequently studied because they are the most accessible, easiest to examine, and hence less costly.Climatic changes have considerably less effect on the microbial flora on the surfaces underground than on those above. This is due, in part, to the thermal inertia of soil and, to a variable degree, its capacity to retain moisture. However, the microclimate at the epidermal surface undergoes considerable variation as temperature fluctuations of 10C°/min can easily be realized. While greater fluctuations that are attributed to the environment are observed, so are lower values due to evapotranspiration. The transfer of the water vapor at the epidermal surface is regulated by the cuticle impermeability, the presence of epidermal hairs, and the function of the stomata. The relative humidity available to the microorganisms follows a daily cycle, usually attaining saturation in the course of the night. Gaseous exchanges with the atmosphere are primarily by diffusion because air movement has practically no influence at distances less than 100 pm from the cuticle. In addition, the above-ground microorganisms are exposed, to greater or lesser degree, to the selective action of solar radiation, with the infrared being of particular importance.In summary, the surface of vegetables is an ecological niche physically and chemically inhospitable (Hudson, 1986). It is a selective habitat for the more resistant fungi, which show an amazing tolerance to desiccation. One of these ubiquitous colonizers, Aureobasidium pullans, produces filaments (hypha) whose extremities or apices can remain viable for 3 weeks at a water activity of only 0.45. The apex is the unique growth zone for all filamentous fungi, which are generally fragile structures. These fungi are grouped into a category calledxerophiles, which have the capacity in common to synthesize osmoregulators, such as mannitol or proline, in their hypha or mycelium.Other ubiquitous species such as Cladosporium herbarum, Alternaria alternata, and Epicoccum purpurascens, as well as numerous representatives of Chaetomium, Fusarium, and Rhizopus, are also notable for spoilage of fruit. These fungi are pigmented and frequently confer a blackening to the colonized surface. These pigments act as protectors for the nucleic acids against the mutagenic and/or biocidal effects of the proximal ultraviolet rays. They require water for their nutrition that is only available intermittently under normal climatic conditions. The evaporation from the vegetation, due to the action of sun and wind, is insufficient, but these microorganisms must also survive in saturated water conditions and not be washed away by atmospheric precipitations. Bacteria can adhere to surfaces by an external sticky capsule, the glycocalyx. For the fungi, attachment is assured by means of special structures that make their removal difficult as, for example, by brushing soiled fruits.Since these microflora depend upon vegetal exudations, some pollen deposits, and animal excrement for their nutrition, phytosanitary treatments can upset some of the antagonistic and competitive relationships. For this, the control methods used are directed to the prevention of the installation of undesirable species.Horticultural residues house saprophytic microflora that persist in the vegetative or, more often, the dormant form. These can be sexual, like the almost microscopic globular perithecium of the fungi Ascomycetes, or asexual, such as the thick-walled spores (or chlamydospores) of the imperfect fungi or the compact mycelial bowls or sclerotes that, for Bolrytis cinerea, can attain a diameter of 3 mm.Some spores are dispersed by the air (Moreau, 1988) [e.g., the dry spores (xerospores) of Aspergillus and Pemcillium, which are ever present and allergenic while others with very moist mucosal walls are disseminated via water, as is the case for the numerous species of Fusarium]. Viruses and bacteria are generally carried by animals passively or actively. Microbial pollution can be intense during the various horticultural processes, such as fertilization or the spreading of manure.
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