Anotace:
Strawberry fruits (Fragaria x ananassa) are very perishable and susceptible to fungal deterioration, mainly by Botrytis cinerea (grey mold). The amla (Phyllanthus emblica) fruits’ extract (AmE) was employed for biosynthesizing selenium nanoparticles (SeNPs) and their nanoconjugates with nanochitosan (NCT) were constructed, characterized and assessed as potential antifungal composites to control B. cinerea and suppress grey mold development in strawberry fruits. The AmE- synthesized SeNPs had mean diameter of 10.23 nm; their nanoconjugates with NCT were validated using UV analysis, electron microscopy and infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The NCT/AmE/SeNPs nanoconjugates had mean diameters of 132.71, 135.18 and 149.37 nm for the formulations T1 (2NCT:1AmE/SeNPs), T2 (1NCT:1AmE/SeNPs) and T3 (1NCT:2AmE/SeNPs), respectively. The treatment of B. cinerea with fabricated nanocomposites led to severe distortion and lysis of fungal mycelium throughout treatment for 30 h; T2 formulation was the most powerful followed by T1 formulation. Coating of experimentally infected strawberry fruits with NCT/AmE/SeNPs nanoconjugates could uphold the freshness and natural appearance of fruits for more than 10 days at 27±2 °C and 90% relative humidity. The fabrication and application of NCT/AmE/SeNPs could be promisingly advised as effective edible antifungal agent to control gray mold infection of crops.