Résumé
Crown rot is an economically important postharvest disease of 'Cavendish' banana fruit caused by a complex of phytopathogenic fungi including Colletotrichum musae. The sustained release of bioactive compounds, such as thymol, encapsulated in porous materials has been studied for applications in postharvest fruit treatments. The release concentrations of thymol in its vapor phase, its evolution, and its impact on fruit preservation, or damage, have rarely been reported. In this study, an 11-d in vivo assay at 14 °C clearly demonstrated the contrasting effects of thymol vapor on banana fruit internal crown rot and phytotoxicity. Thymol vapor achieved by sublimation reduced necrosis in the crown from 40 % to 4 %. However, it triggered phytotoxicity, which caused damage to the fruit peel. Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs), in this case ZIF-8, UiO-66-(COOH)2 and zeolite 13X enabled the sustained and controlled release of thymol. When encapsulated in ZIF-8, thymol had a release rate approximately 200 times slower than its sublimation rate at 30 °C. Despite the slower release kinetics, thymol released from ZIF-8 achieved concentrations that reduced internal crown rot, to the same extent as thymol sublimation. Moreover, the controlled release minimized phytotoxicity.