Fungicide-free management of Alternaria leaf blotch and fruit spot on apple indicates Alternaria spp. as secondary colonizer.

ABSTRACT: The fungal genus Alternaria is a pan-global pathogen of > 100 crops, and is associated with the globally expanding Alternaria leaf blotch in apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) which leads to severe leaf necrosis, premature defoliation, and large economic losses. Up to date, the epidemiology of many Alternaria species is still not resolved as they can be saprophytic, parasitic or shift between both lifestyles and are also classified as primary pathogen able to infect healthy tissue. We argue that Alternaria spp. does not act as primary pathogen, but only as a necrosis-dependent opportunist. We studied the infection biology of Alternaria spp. under controlled conditions and monitored disease prevalence in real orchards and validated our ideas by applying fungicide-free treatments in 3-years fi

SUBMITTER: Prechsl UE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10209047 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature