Oct 27, 2022
Decco’s organic option for apple storage
Decco, a leader in postharvest technologies, is now offering the only registered organic fungicide for apple storage.
The company is touting Nexy as the first-ever organic biofungicide. Ernest “Boomer” Cardinale, Decco’s U.S. director of marketing and business development, said Nexy is a yeast-based antagonist to harmful pathogens. “It does an excellent job controlling blue mold and gray mold on storage apples by stealing the food source from those pathogens,” he said.
Fruit treated with Nexy forms a natural shield of protection against harmful pathogens in storage. Cardinale said without this biofungicide, packers must fight those diseases with organic sanitizers, which are not as effective.
Yeast was discovered in an apple orchard as a natural predator against the pathogens, Cardinale said. Decco, in partnership with a French company, developed Nexy and brought it to the U.S. market three years ago.
Some packers are also using Nexy on their conventional apples as part of their toolkit. Cardinale noted that over time pathogens create a resistance to classic chemistry, so the addition of this biofungicide in the rotation can help keep the pathogens at bay and increase the packout while reducing waste.
In addition to using Nexy as a biological solution for protecting post-harvest fruit, Decco also offers DeccoSan PAA products for use as sanitizers in an organic packhouse facility. For waxes and coatings, Decco provides DeccoNatur for organic apples and pears.
Cardinale said there is ongoing work developing organic coating products. “Right now, we are looking at coatings in the cherry space for post-harvest protection on the organic side,” he said, adding that Decco’s organic portfolio continues to expand.
Decco is a wholly owned subsidiary of UPL Limited, one of the world’s largest chemical companies. Its post-harvest solutions include coatings, cleaners, sanitizers, fungicides, and growth regulators. The company’s largest categories of customers are producers of citrus, pome fruit and potatoes.
― Organic Produce Network
