Monilinia spp. Causing Brown Rot of Stone Fruit in Serbia

Abstract

Brown rot is one of the most important pre- and postharvest fungal diseases of stone fruit worldwide. In Serbia, where production of stone fruit is economically important, Monilinia laxa and M. fructigena are widely distributed. In surveys from 2011 to 2013, 288 isolates of Monilinia spp. were collected from 131 localities in 16 districts and from six hosts in Serbia. Using multiplex polymerase chain reaction, phylogenetic analysis, and morphological characterization, three species of Monilinia were identified as the causal agents of brown rot of stone fruit: M. laxa (89% of isolates), M. fructigena (3%), and M. fructicola (8%). In 2011, M. fructicola was reported for the first time on stone fruit in Serbia, with only one isolate detected. More isolates of M. fructicola were detected in 2012 (2 isolates) and 2013 (20 isolates). The presence of M. fructicola, as well as its increased frequency of detection during the survey, may indicate a change in the population structure of these pathogens, which could have an important impact on brown rot disease management in Serbia.

Susceptibility of Serbian plum cultivars to indigenous bacterial and Monilinia laxa isolates

“…Moreover, this experimental system showed itself to be unambiguous, since no latent infection occurred on fruit inoculated with a sterile PDA plug as a negative control. The ability of indigenous M. laxa isolates to cause typical symptoms on artificially inoculated mature fruits of the Rodna and Požegača cultivars agrees with field observations of plum susceptibility to M. laxa in Serbian plum orchards (Hrustić et al 2015;Glišić et al 2016). The obtained data are also in accordance with the results of studies from other plum-producing areas across the Europe, where M. laxa was commonly detected in plum orchards affected by brown rot (Gell et al 2007;Sződi et al 2012;Poniatowska et al 2013).…”

“…Monilinia laxa is recognised as the causative agent of brown rot in Serbian plum orchards, with 89% incidence among detected Monilinia spp. (Hrustić et al 2015).…”

“…Because the epiphytic population can initiate disease outbreaks during favourable climatic conditions and affect the welfare of plum trees in orchards, the pathogenicity of indigenous isolates should be investigated. In the studies of Ivanović et al (2012) and Hrustić et al (2015), the pathogenicity of bacterial and fungal pathogens isolated from plum orchards in Serbia was evaluated on different hosts. However, susceptibility of the Lepotica, Rodna, Požegača and Ranka cultivars to economically significant phytopathogens from their phyllosphere was not investigated.…”

Phyllosphere Fungal Communities of Plum and Antifungal Activity of Indigenous Phenazine-Producing Pseudomonas synxantha Against Monilinia laxa

“…Knowledge of the fungal ecology of plums is often limited to reports indicating the presence of individual microorganisms at a given time. Previous studies investigated fungal communities using conventional cultivation methods, mainly based on isolation of fungi causing brown rot (Poniatowska et al, 2013; Hrustić et al, 2015). There are no reports about the use of the metabarcoding approach for the assessment of fungal diversity in the plum phyllosphere.…”

Peach Brown Rot: Still in Search of an Ideal Management Option

“…(position in classification: Sclerotiniaceae, Helotiales, Leotiomycetidae, Leotiomycetes, Pezizomycotina, Ascomycota) [42]. The species of Monilinia are among the major causal organisms of brown rot disease in various orchard tree crops including: (a) Stone fruits [4,40,41,43,44], such as apricots [45,46], peaches [5,8,47,48], nectarines [48], cherries [49], and plums [45]; (b) Almonds [50] occasionally; and (c) Some pome fruits [51,52], such as pears [51], apples [53], and quinces [54].…”