Ecological association of two postharvest pathogens on mango fruits.
Jadeja K. B.
Author Affiliation: Department of Plant Pathology, College of Agriculture, Gujarat Agricultural University, Junagadh 362 001, Gujarat, India.
Journal of Mycology and Plant Pathology 30 : 406-407
Abstract : Fruits of mango cv. Kesar were inoculated with pathogens by cork wound method. First and second set fruits were inoculated separately with Botryodiplodia theobromae and Aspergillus niger, respectively. Third set fruits were inoculated first with B. theobromae before being reinoculated with A. niger on the same spot. Fourth set fruits previously inoculated with A. niger were reinoculated with B. theobromae after 12 h of incubation. Fifth set fruits were inoculated simultaneously with both fungi on a single spot. All fruits were then incubated at various temperature regimes (10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35°C) and at an ambient temperature of 30-36°C. The optimum temperature for fruit rot development was 30°C whther the pathogens were inoculated singly or in combination. Both pathogens did not develop at 10°C. Rot development was initiated by A. niger and B. theobromae at temperatures of 20 and 15°C, respectively. Disease symptoms and rot intensity caused by B. theobromae were similar whether the pathogen was inoculated singly or simultaneously with A. niger. Also, the development of fruit rot was faster when B. theobromae was inoculated first, and when its symptoms were already evident, before A. niger inoculation. These showed the overall dominance of B. theobromae over A. niger.