Postharvest fungal pathogens of apple in Nigde Province, Turkey

Abstract

Apples are an economically important horticultural product worldwide. They can be stored under low temperature for long periods of time (up to 10 months). However, fungal decay is a major problem in long-term storage and causes serious postharvest fruit loses around the world, including Turkey. This decay is caused by several fungi with different infection mechanisms favored by different conditions. Therefore, it is crucial to know which fungal pathogens are the primary cause of any decay in order to develop innovative control strategies. For this reason, the aim of this study was to sample decaying apples from cold storage facilities in Niğde Province, Turkey (an important apple-producing province) to isolate and identify the pathogens. A total of 395 visually infected apples were sampled from 18 cold storage facilities in the 2020/21 production season. Culture morphology of the isolates was examined, isolates were morphologically identified at the genus level. The results showed that the identified dominant genera considered of major contributors to fruit spoilage belonged to genus Penicillium (76.5%), followed by Alternaria (19.0%). Other fungal pathogens, including species of Botrytis, Cadophora, Cladosporium and Fusarium had low abundance. Pathogenicity testing and molecular characterization of the isolates is in progress.