Previous View
 
APSnet Home
 
Plant Disease Home


VIEW ARTICLE

Research

Factors Affecting Dispersal of Mucor piriformis in Pear Orchards and into the Packinghouse. Themis J. Michailides, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Hood River, OR 97031. R. A. Spotts, Associate Professor, Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Oregon State University, Mid-Columbia Agricultural Research and Extension Center, Hood River, OR 97031. Plant Dis. 70:1060-1063. Accepted for publication 20 July 1986. Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-70-1060.

Mucor piriformis is one of the major causes of postharvest decay of pear fruit in the Pacific Northwest. Propagules of M. piriformis numbering 6–3,381/ g of dry soil were found in soils collected from five pear orchards 1 mo before harvest; however, M. piriformis was absent in samples of leaf, fruit, and air collected during harvest. At harvest 2.5–5% of decayed fruits on the orchard floor were infected with M. piriformis. Two months later, fallen fruits decayed by M. piriformis increased to 23–50%, and propagules of M. piriformis in the soil increased to 365–6,832/g of dry soil. Soil adhering on the picking bins had 1,042–8,333 fungal propagules per gram of dry soil and may serve as an inoculum source of postharvest infections of pear fruits.