الفهرس 
IntroductionOnly 14 pages are availabe for public view
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Abstract
Apples are among the most popular fruits worldwide. It is attacked by several fungal pathogens both pre and postharvest. The apples postharvest rot is one of the most threatening diseases in apple cultivation. The control of fungal pathogens of apples, especially Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of gray mold disease, has been accomplished primarily by applying chemical fungicides. Due to concerns of health and environmental hazards, the main goal of this study was to minimize the use of synthetic fungicides entirely or partially by using bio-control agents such as Bacillus subtilis and Streptomyces endus as well as plant extracts like Frankincense gum resin and celery seeds. In the current study, eight genera were isolated and identified according to their cultural and microscopic characteristics. B. cinerea isolate was found to be the most virulent on apple fruits in pathogenicity tests. Therefore, B. cinerea was identified by molecular testing using internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequencing and phylogenetic analysis. The in vitro experiment showed that both bioagents and plant extracts possessed strong fungistatic activity against B. cinerea as they completely inhibited the radial growth of B. cinerea. Our in vivo findings showed that the exogenous application of the cell-free bacterial suspension of bioagents (dipping or wrapping) and plant extracts (dipping, wrapping or Volatile organic compounds [VOCs]) to B. cinerea-infected fruits at room temperature significantly reduced the rotten area and enhanced the enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidant defense machinery in treated apples. Furthermore, the application of both bacterial suspensions and plant extracts prolonged the storage period, reduced the relative weight loss, and maintained high-quality parameters including titratable acidity, firmness, and total soluble solids of apple fruits under cold storage at 1°C during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. In conclusion, these findings suggest that both bioagents and plant extracts might be used as eco-friendly alternative control agents to reduce the usage of chemical fungicides to maintain food security and human health.