Mycotoxins contamination and pest infestation of foods and feeds represent a pivotal threat for food safety and security worldwide, with crucial implications for human and animal health. Controlled atmosphere could be a sustainable strategy to reduce mycotoxins content and counteract the vitality of deleterious organisms in foodstuff. Ozone treatment (O₃, 500 ppb for 30, 60 or 90 min) and high nitrogen concentration (N₂, 99% for 21 consecutive days) were tested in the post-harvest management of four batches of Cicer arietinum grains to control the presence of mycotoxigenic fungi and their secondary metabolites, as well as pest (i.e., Callosobruchus maculatus) infestation. At the end of the treatment, O₃ significantly decreased the incidence of Penicillium spp. (by an average of −50%, independently to the time of exposure) and reduced the patulin and aflatoxins content after 30 min (−85 and −100%, respectively). High N₂ concentrations remarkably reduced mycotoxins contamination (by an average of −94%) and induced pest mortality (at 100% after 5 days of exposure). These results confirm the promising potential of O₃ and N₂ in post-harvest conservation strategies, leading to further investigations to evaluate the effects on the qualitative characteristics of grains.

Coniella granati, the causal agent of pomegranate crown rot, twig blight, and fruit decay, is an emerging worldwide pathogen with a heavy impact on pomegranate cultivation. In this study, we report the rapid spread of the fungus in Italian pomegranate orchards associated with crown rot symptoms and provide new results on fungal development, baseline sensitivity to different fungicides, and intraspecific variability by analyzing 11 isolates, representative of populations of the pathogen from comparable pomegranate orchards in different regions of Italy. In vitro assays showed that 25 to 30°C was the optimal range for both colony growth and conidial germination, corroborating the results previously obtained for Californian and Greek isolates. According to the baseline sensitivity assay on the response of colony growth and conidial germination to 10 fungicides, fludioxonil, thiophanate-methyl, tebuconazole, and cyprodinil were the most effective. Random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) analysis, carried out using fourteen 10-mer primers, showed very low intraspecific variability (similarity coefficient >0.95), probably as a result of the recent spread of the pathogen in Italy and the uncommon occurrence of the sexual process as a source of genetic variability. In summary, this study provides new knowledge on C. granati that will be helpful for improving pomegranate crown rot management.

In recent years, the excessive use of pesticides has raised environmental and health concerns, which has led to research into natural alternatives. Essential oils may represent a sustainable solution to this problem. In this study, essential oils from Thymbra capitata (L.) Cav., Eucalyptus globulus Labill, and Mentha piperita L. were analyzed by GC–MS and tested in vitro using the poisoned food technique against six olive pathogen fungi: Alternaria sp., Arthrinium marii, Colletotrichum acutatum, Fomitiporia mediterranea, Fusarium solani, and Verticillium dahliae. T. capitata essential oil (0.1 g/L) showed the highest antifungal activity when compared to E. globulus and M. piperita essential oils, which exhibited significantly lower efficacy against the tested olive phytopathogenic fungi. GC–MS analysis revealed that carvacrol is the main compound (76.1%) in T. capitata essential oil. A comparison of the inhibitory effect of T. capitata essential oil (0.1 g/L) and carvacrol (0.07 g/L) on selected fungal strains showed similar results, with carvacrol slightly more effective, although the differences were mostly statistically insignificant, except for C. acutatum. To the authors knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating the inhibitory effect of Thymbra capitata essential oil against A. marii and F. mediterranea. The results of this study represent a basis for the development of new biochemical biopesticides based on T. capitata essential oil as a useful tool for the contrast of some fungal olive tree diseases.

Cicer arietinum L. (chickpea, or garbanzo bean) is one of the most consumed legumes worldwide. It is a rich source of carbohydrates, proteins, fibers, minerals and vitamins with very low cholesterol. From a nutritional point of view, despite the low content of fats, the seeds contain various unsaturated acids, such as linoleic and oleic acids, as well as bioactive compounds, like antioxidants, with reactive oxygen species-scavenging activities. It is known that long periods of storage can drastically affect the preservation of these compounds in seeds. For this reason, in the last few years, different methods have been tested with the aim of increasing the shelf life of economically relevant beans, seeds and cereals. A promising and eco-friendly alternative to traditional storage is the use of a controlled atmosphere, represented by N₂-pressurized silos. The present study aims at evaluating the content of different compounds, e.g., fatty acids, proteins, vitamins, and molecules of nutraceutical interest, in chickpeas stored at ambient temperature in N₂-pressurized silos (98.5 ± 0.5% (v/v)) and control ones (standard storage) in long-term kinetics (1 year). The results show the stable content of most compounds during the kinetics. However, vitamin E decreased in samples stored under both standard and controlled atmosphere conditions, with a more pronounced and significant decrease under standard conditions as compared to the controlled atmosphere. Additionally, samples stored under a controlled atmosphere show a total higher content of quinic, indole butyric and benzoic acid, as well as their derivates.