Sodium alginate and carboxymethyl cellulose-based composite coating enriched Lactiplantibacillus plantarum reduced anthracnose disease and maintained the quality of “Cat Hoa Loc” mango fruits

Anthracnose, caused by Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex and identified through internal transcribed spacer (ITS) region sequence homology, poses a major challenge to postharvest “Cat Hoa Loc” mangoes by reducing fruit quality, shelf life, and export potential. This study evaluated the efficacy of a 2.0% sodium alginate (SA) and 0.25% carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) coating, enriched with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum (106 CFU mL-1), in controlling anthracnose and preserving fruit quality. In vitro, Lactiplantibacillus plantarum isolate LDC11 inhibited the C. gloeosporioides species complex mycelial and spore growth by 42.5% and 53.8%, respectively. The combined treatment of the SA-CMC coating with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum isolate LDC11 reduced disease incidence by 3-fold and disease severity by 2.89-fold, extending the storage period by 3 days at 25 °C, compared to the control. This treatment significantly preserved fruit quality, maintaining high levels of firmness, vitamin C, phenolic compounds, and chlorophyll, while also slowing respiration rates, delaying the decline in titratable acidity (TA), and impeding increases in total soluble solids (TSS). Weight loss was unaffected. Overall, the SA-CMC coating enriched with Lactiplantibacillus plantarum isolate LDC11 provides a promising, eco-friendly postharvest approach that could be applied in industrial mango preservation and export processing.