Hydrothermal treatment in the management of anthracnose in ‘Prata-Anã’ banana produced in the semiarid region of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract Anthracnose stands out among rot diseases that can occur in the post-harvest phase of banana. The aim of this study was to evaluate the thermotherapy in the control of anthracnose in ‘Prata Anã’ banana produced in northern state of Minas Gerais. Bananas ‘Prata Anã’ variety were divided into groups of three fruits and inoculated with Colletotrichum musae. Groups were submitted to thermotherapy using five temperatures (40°C, 44°C, 48°C, 52°C and 56°C) and four immersion times (4, 8, 12 and 16 minutes) and control. Treatments were repeated five times in a completely randomized design. Area under the incidence progress curve (AUIPC) and area under the severity progress curve (AUSPC) were calculated. To evaluate the thermotherapy efficiency compared to chemical control, fruits were submitted to the following treatments: thermotherapy with and without fungicide application and fruits treated with fungicide only, the control fruits without thermotherapy and without fungicide application. After fifteen days of storage, fruits were evaluated for anthracnose severity. The results of experiments were submitted to analysis of variance and regression and means were compared by the Scott-Knott test (p