Review Maps Sustainable Strategies to Curb Postharvest Vegetable Diseases

Postharvest diseases remain a major driver of vegetable losses between the field and the consumer. A peer-reviewed review published open access in npj Science of Food brings together the underlying causes of these diseases in key vegetable crops and evaluates a range of alternative control strategies designed to replace or reduce reliance on synthetic pesticides.

The review, authored by Yuan Sui, Wanyue Zhang, Bin Duan, Jie Wu, Lihong Wang and Xianmei Xiao, organizes the evidence around four broad categories of intervention: biological control agents, natural antimicrobial compounds, physical treatments, and innovative packaging technologies. By summarizing how each approach works, the authors aim to provide a consolidated picture of what sustainable postharvest protection currently has to offer.

At the center of the paper is a proposed Integrated Postharvest Disease Management framework, abbreviated IPDM. Rather than depending on any single treatment, the strategy layers multiple preventive methods that overlap in time and mode of action, with the stated goals of reducing postharvest losses and maintaining produce quality simultaneously.

The review also highlights the practical value of multi-omic analyses, which combine genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic and metabolomic data. According to the authors, these tools can elucidate the mechanisms of pathogenicity in spoilage organisms and the resistance responses of host tissues, knowledge that could inform the design of more targeted interventions.

As a review article, the work synthesizes and interprets existing literature rather than presenting new experimental results, and the shared version is an accepted manuscript that will be replaced by the final Version of Record. Its contribution lies in framing physiological insight and emerging technologies within a single, sustainability-oriented management strategy for vegetables after harvest.

Subject of Research: Sustainable integrated management of postharvest diseases in vegetable crops

Article Title: Sustainable postharvest vegetable disease management: integrating physiological insights and innovative technologies for quality preservation

Article References: Sui, Y., Zhang, W., Duan, B., Wu, J., Wang, L., & Xiao, X. (2026). Sustainable postharvest vegetable disease management: integrating physiological insights and innovative technologies for quality preservation. npj Science of Food. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41538-026-01201-y

Image Credits: AI Generated

DOI: 10.1038/s41538-026-01201-y

Keywords: postharvest disease, vegetables, integrated disease management, biocontrol, natural antimicrobials, packaging technologies, food quality, multi-omics, food loss, sustainability, npj Science of Food, review