biostudies-literatureUnknown13(10)Habib WThe apple is one of the most important fruit tree crops in the Mediterranean region. Lebanon, in particular, is among the top apple producer countries in the Middle East; however, recently, several types of damage, particularly rot symptoms, have been detected on fruits in cold storage. This study aims to identify the causal agents of apple decay in Lebanese post-harvest facilities and characterize a set of 39 representative strains of the toxigenic fungus Penicillium. The results demonstrated that blue mould was the most frequent fungal disease associated with apples showing symptoms of decay after 3-4 months of storage at 0 °C, with an average frequency of 76.5% and 80.6% on cv. Red and cv. Golden Delicious apples, respectively. The morphological identification and phylogenetic analysis Toxins730https://www.ebi.ac.uk/biostudies/studies/S-EPMC8537683biostudies-literatureOccurrence and Characterization of Penicillium Species Isolated from Post-Harvest Apples in Lebanon.PMC8537683Saab CHabib WMoretti ALogrieco AFSolfrizzo MMasiello MPiemontese LAl Moussawi ZChahine-Tsouvalakis HTawk STSusca AfalseOccurrence and Characterization of Penicillium Species Isolated from Post-Harvest Apples in Lebanon.The apple is one of the most important fruit tree crops in the Mediterranean region. Lebanon, in particular, is among the top apple producer countries in the Middle East; however, recently, several types of damage, particularly rot symptoms, have been detected on fruits in cold storage. This study aims to identify the causal agents of apple decay in Lebanese post-harvest facilities and characterize a set of 39 representative strains of the toxigenic fungus Penicillium. The results demonstrated that blue mould was the most frequent fungal disease associated with apples showing symptoms of decay after 3-4 months of storage at 0 °C, with an average frequency of 76.5% and 80.6% on cv. Red and cv. Golden Delicious apples, respectively. The morphological identification and phylogenetic analysis 2021-01-01T00:00:00Z2021 Oct2025-04-05T12:57:02.68Z2024-11-12T12:23:20.109ZS-EPMC85376833467902310.3390/toxins13100730