Articles
A targeted approach for single lenticel inoculation of apple fruit
Article number
1458_56
Pages
421 – 428
Language
English
Abstract
Apple is an economically important fruit crop that can suffer substantial losses due to fungal diseases.
The existing procedures for non-wounding-based in vitro inoculation of apple fruit are relatively time-consuming and require a large volume of conidial suspension.
Furthermore, the procedures are not suitable for controlled infection of specific lenticels.
Therefore, this study proposes a simple and robust inoculation approach for apple postharvest pathogens that infect the fruit through lenticels.
Apple fruit of the cultivar ‘Golden Delicious’ were inoculated with two different concentrations, 107 and 106 conidia mL‑1, of Colletotrichum godetiae using adhesive water-resistant spot plasters impregnated with 50 µL of conidial suspension.
The fruit remained exposed to the inoculum for time periods of 7, 14, 21, and 28 days.
The results revealed that the higher conidial suspension concentration resulted in a higher infection rate of 61% compared to the lower concentration, which yielded 25%. Furthermore, a 14-day inoculum exposure time increased the likelihood of successful lenticel infections, with 79% of inoculation sites infected at a concentration of 107 conidia mL‑1, and significantly increased the mean lesion diameter.
To our knowledge, this is the first protocol for a non-invasive, targeted infection of specific sites on apple fruit using sterile, disposable plasters, which may promote further research into the infection dynamics regulated within the lenticel during disease progression.
The existing procedures for non-wounding-based in vitro inoculation of apple fruit are relatively time-consuming and require a large volume of conidial suspension.
Furthermore, the procedures are not suitable for controlled infection of specific lenticels.
Therefore, this study proposes a simple and robust inoculation approach for apple postharvest pathogens that infect the fruit through lenticels.
Apple fruit of the cultivar ‘Golden Delicious’ were inoculated with two different concentrations, 107 and 106 conidia mL‑1, of Colletotrichum godetiae using adhesive water-resistant spot plasters impregnated with 50 µL of conidial suspension.
The fruit remained exposed to the inoculum for time periods of 7, 14, 21, and 28 days.
The results revealed that the higher conidial suspension concentration resulted in a higher infection rate of 61% compared to the lower concentration, which yielded 25%. Furthermore, a 14-day inoculum exposure time increased the likelihood of successful lenticel infections, with 79% of inoculation sites infected at a concentration of 107 conidia mL‑1, and significantly increased the mean lesion diameter.
To our knowledge, this is the first protocol for a non-invasive, targeted infection of specific sites on apple fruit using sterile, disposable plasters, which may promote further research into the infection dynamics regulated within the lenticel during disease progression.
Authors
H. Qayyum, M. Ranzi, S. Baric
Keywords
fungi, postharvest pathology, latent infection, conidia, in vitro inoculation
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