Phytophthora syringae Fruit Rot of Apples

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Abstract
SUMMARY: Apples affected by Phytophthora syringae (Kleb.) Kleb. fruit rot show a firm brown rot which spreads through the fruit and may later be masked by secondary rotting organisms. Occurrence of the disease in commercial apple crops in Kent and Sussex was extremely variable during the four fruit storage seasons 1973–77. Following initial infection in the orchard, the disease spread to adjacent healthy fruit during refrigerated storage. Post‐harvest treatment with benomyl in water had no consistent effect on the spread or development of the disease in fruit in the laboratory or in commercial crops. It is suggested that soil contamination of fruit and rain splash from soil are the means of infection in the orchard, and that the recent prevalence of the disease may be a result of the maintenance of bare soil in orchards and the increased use of dwarfing rootstocks and pruning systems so that fruit are grown nearer to the ground.