Use of a Plastic Rain Shield Reduces Fruit Decay and Need for Fungicides in Sweet Cherry
Abstract and Figures
It has been shown previously that covering sweet cherry trees (Prunus avium L.) with rain shields made of polyethylene or other waterproof, light-transmitting material prior to harvest to prevent fruit cracking will reduce fruit decay by various fungi. In the present work, the effects of extending the covering period on fruit decay, fruit quality, and the potential reduction in number of fungicide applications were investigated. In six of eight trials, there were significant reductions in fruit decay in covered fruit compared with fruit that were not covered. The most prevalent fruit-decaying fungi were Monilinia laxa and Botrytis cinerea. Mucor piriformis and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides occurred in high amounts in one trial each. The treatments included covering during rain periods until harvest was over from (i) bloom (bloom-cover), (ii) 6 to 7 weeks prior to harvest (early-fruit-cover), (iii) 3 to 4 weeks prior to harvest (late-fruit-cover), and (iv) not covered. In two trials, the number of fungicide applications was similar between different covering times (bloom-cover not included), and in one trial no fungicides were applied at all (all treatments included). There was a significant effect of covering on fruit decay in all three trials, but there was no difference between covering 6 to 7 and 3 to 4 weeks prior to harvest. In the sprayed fields, the incidence of decay was 48% in fruit that were not covered compared with from 6 to 11% in covered fruit. In the unsprayed field, covering from bloom resulted in 14% fruit decay compared with 23 to 26% in the other two cover treatments. In five trials, all covering regimes were included, and the number of fungicide applications varied with time of covering. The number of fungicide applications for the different treatments were: bloom-cover, 0; early-fruit-cover, 1 to 4; late-fruit-cover, 2 to 5; uncovered, 3 to 6. The mean incidence of fruit decay at harvest for the five trials (range in parentheses) was 3.4 (2.0 to 4.3), 1.8 (0.4 to 4.0), 3.8 (1.8 to 7.7), and 16.5% (2.5 to 39.7), respectively, for the covering times listed. There were no significant differences in decay after storage (3 to 7 days at 4degreesC followed by 2 to 4 days at 20degreesC) among the different covering times in the six experiments where fruit were stored. The results indicate that fungicide applications were not needed if fruit were covered during rainy periods from bloom until the end of harvest, and it was possible to omit I fungicide application if the covering period was increased from 3 to 4 weeks to 6 to 7 weeks. The fruit quality was not reduced by increasing the covering period from the normal 3 to 4 weeks in any of the experiments.
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... Climate conditions, especially rainfall and high humidity, remarkably affect postharvest decay incidence in citrus and other fruit, as they promote spore dispersal and hasten decay development. More specifically, Reis et al. [17] reported a strong relationship between total rainfall levels and black spot disease severity in oranges; Xue et al. [18] reported that rainfall promoted the production of perithecium bodies of Botryosphaeria dothidea on cankered apple branches, and Børve and Stensvand [19] showed that the use of plastic rain shields reduced the decay incidence in sweet cherries. ...
... The correlations between rainfall rates and postharvest decay incidence were noted for several rainfall parameters, including the amounts of rain two weeks before harvest, seasonal rain until harvest, and the number of stormy days (≥30 mm per day) until harvest ( Figure 6C-H). These findings regarding the effects of rainfall on postharvest decay development agree with previous reports for citrus and other fruit [17][18][19]. No correlation was found between the amount of rainfall one week before harvest and decay incidence, most likely because growers avoid harvesting the fruit shortly after rain. ...
‘Redson’ is a new triploid, red-fleshed pomelo x grapefruit hybrid. The goal of this study was to examine the effects of rainfall, harvest time, tree age, and yield on the postharvest storage performance of ‘Redson’ fruit. During 2022/23, two postharvest storage trials were conducted with early- and late-harvested fruit. The fruit from the early harvest retained good quality for up to 16 weeks of storage at 7.5 °C plus 1 week at 22 °C, whereas the late-harvested fruit suffered from a high decay incidence. During 2023/24, we expanded the postharvest trials to nine different fruit sets harvested from early season (late October) until the end of the season (January). Fruit quality was examined under the same storage conditions after 6 and 16 weeks, and the results indicated that early- and mid-season fruit retained good quality with minimal decay incidence even after prolonged storage for 16 weeks, whereas the late-season fruit suffered from significant decay incidences of 17–22% and a decline in flavor acceptability. Further analysis revealed strong and significant correlations between various rainfall parameters and harvest time and decay incidences. Overall, early-harvested fruit during the autumn had a superior postharvest storage performance, whereas late-harvested fruit during the rainy winter suffered from decay development.
... In some perennial crops, rain shelter systems have shown great effectiveness in reducing the incidence of many fungal diseases whose development requires a certain period of wetting in trees. For example, in Norway, Borve and Stensvand [11] showed that the installation of transparent rain shelters on cherry trees during rainy periods from flowering to harvest made it possible to avoid fungicide protection while producing a relatively healthy harvest. In fact, covered trees presented on average only 3.4% of rotten cherries, mainly due to Monilinia laxa and Botrytis cinerea (Pers.). ...
... In fact, covered trees presented on average only 3.4% of rotten cherries, mainly due to Monilinia laxa and Botrytis cinerea (Pers.). In contrast, unprotected trees received between three and six fungicide treatments from flowering to harvest and averaged 16.5% of rotten cherries [11]. In France, the rain shelters offered by Filpack ® were evaluated from 2010 to 2015 on Braeburn and Gala apple varieties. ...
Blossom and twig blight, caused by Monilinia spp., is the main disease in apricot trees. In this study, we installed transparent rain shelters in apricot orchards to study their influence on the modification of the microclimate at the level of the tree canopy and on the reduction in moniliosis damage in twigs. Rain shelters significantly reduced the leaf wetness time measured within the foliage compared to the unsheltered trees (a reduction of between 43% and 67%). However, very few differences were observed in the daily averaged air temperature (up to 6%) and daily averaged air relative humidity (up to 1%). In the first experiment, on the apricot variety Bergarouge® (CEP Innovation, Lyon, France), moniliosis damage on twigs in the absence of phytosanitary protection was reduced by up to 62% for the trees provided with rain protection compared to the trees that did not receive rain shelters. A second experiment, involving five apricot tree varieties, made it possible to verify that fungicide protection could be reduced for the trees protected by rain covers, reducing moniliosis damage on twigs compared to full fungicide protection combined without rain protection. Finally, a third experiment comprising two apricot tree varieties has shown that in organic orchards, rain protection provides protection against moniliosis (twig blight) that is equivalent to an organic farming fungicide protection programme based on the use of copper sulphate and calcium polysulphide.
... CLINE et al. (1995) discovered that plastic rain covers were very beneficial in reducing fruit cracking and improving fruit size and fruit firmness. Use of plastic rain shield reduced fruit decay and need for fungicides in sweet cherry (BØRVE and STENSVAND 2003). By covering the trees 3-4 weeks prior to harvest, a late fungicide spray could be eliminated (BØRVE et al. 2007). ...
The effects of rain protective tree covering on sweet cherry quality parameters: fruit weight, concentration of individual sugars, organic acids, anthocyanins and other phenolics, fruit colour and fruit decay because of fruit cracking and rotting were analyzed on 'Hedelfinger', 'Kordia', and 'Regina' sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) on the rootstock 'Gisela 5' in 2006. Half of the trees of each cultivar were covered 5 to 6 weeks prior to harvest and the other half was grown without a covering. Tree covering reduced crop losses due to fruit cracking and rotting without negative effects on fruit quality. Covers significantly reduced percentage of cracked 'Hedelfinger' fruit (13.6%) and of rotten 'Regina' fruit (4.6%). Tree covers had no significant influence on sweet cherry fruit weight, fruit from covered trees had higher fruit weight (4.0% in 'Hedelfinger', 19.9% in 'Kordia' and 6.5% in 'Regina'). Colour parameters L*, a*, and b* significantly changed by covering in 'Hedelfinger' and a* in 'Kordia'. Systematically higher (not significantly) concentrations of sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose and sorbitol) and organic acids (citric, malic, shikimic and fumaric acid) were measured in fruits under covers. There was no significant effect of covering on the concentrations of phenols (neochlorogenic acid, p-coumaroylquinic acid, chlorogenic acid, epicatechin and rutin) and anthocyanins (cyanidin 3-glucoside, cyanidin 3-rutinoside, pelargonidin 3-rutinoside and peonidin-3-rutinoside).
... Patogen Avstraliya, Yangi Zelandiya, Janubiy Afrika, Shimoliy va Janubiy Amerika va Yaponiyada aniqlangan [11]. Keyinchalik bir necha Yevropa mamlakatlari Frantsiya [19,20,21]. ...
... As temperature and relative humidity (RH) can increase under these covers, there is a higher risk of disease incidence, and thus ventilation is required to prevent damage to the leaves and fruit, decreased fruit color, and fruit softening (Simon, 2006;Lang et al., 2011;Bastías et al., 2017;Bastías and Leyton, 2018). Nevertheless, other studies indicate that covers also reduce the need for fungicides during the rainy periods from flowering to the end of harvest (Børve and Stensvand, 2003). Greenhouse cultivation is a more recent practice in cherry orchards, which allows the creation of more favorable conditions for plant growth by artificially controlling air temperature and RH to extend growing seasons and improve yields (Perrin et al., 2014). ...
Climate change is increasing sweet cherry (Prunus avium (L.) L.) production under cover systems such as high tunnels, rain covers, and nets. The objective of this review was to provide an overview of the environmental factors and physiological responses involved in cherry production under different types of protective covering systems. The most important environmental factors affected by cover systems are photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), temperature, relative humidity, and wind speed, which in turn affect leaf gas exchange, plant water relations, tree growth, flower development, and fruit quality. The use of covering systems has a positive effect on photosynthesis by increasing the amount of diffused PAR, but a negative effect on the reproductive-vegetative tree balance due to lower total PAR availability. Increases in air temperature by cover systems alter differentially flowering and fruit set, impacting positively the ripening time and cell division of the fruits. Plant water status is improved under cover systems, allowing for greater tolerance to water deficit as well as improved potential fruit cell expansion, with an ensuing positive effect on fruit size, but decreasing fruit firmness due to lower Ca availability fruits. The multiple environmental factors and physiological responses observed in cherry production under cover systems suggest the need to adjust agronomic practices such as pruning, crop load regulation, irrigation, and nutrition according to these specific conditions.
... Colletotrichum is an important genus of plant pathogens that cause diseases leading to yield reduction in many fruit trees in tropical and temperate regions, but there are only a few reports of the genus on sweet cherry. In Norway, anthracnose of sweet cherry, also called bitter rot, was believed to be caused by C. gloeosporioides in early studies (Børve and Stensvand 2003) and was later identified as C. acutatum (Børve and Stensvand 2006). This species could survive over winter on sweet cherry buds and thus could be a source of inoculum in the spring causing fruit decay (Børve and Stensvand 2006). ...
Leaf spot is a common and serious disease of sweet cherry worldwide and has become a major concern in China. From 2018 to 2020, disease investigations were carried out in Beijing City, Sichuan, Shandong and Liaoning Provinces in China, and 105 Colletotrichum isolates were obtained from diseased samples. Isolates were identified by morphological characterization coupled with multi-gene phylogenetic analyses based on six loci (internal transcribed spacer region, glyceraldehyde 3-phosphate dehydrogenase, calmodulin, actin, chitin synthase and β-tubulin). A total of 13 Colletotrichum species were identified, namely: Colletotrichum aenigma, C. gloeosporioides, C. fructicola, C. siamense, C. temperatum, C. conoides, C. hebeiense, C. sojae, C. plurivorum, C. karsti, C. truncatum, C. incanum and C. dematium. Among these, C. aenigma (25.7%) was the most prominent species isolated from diseased leaves, followed by C. gloeosporioides (19.0%) and C. fructicola (12.4%). Pathogenicity was tested on detached leaves of cv. ‘Tieton’ and ‘Summit’, and young seedlings of cv. ‘Brooks’ under greenhouse conditions. All 13 species were pathogenic to cherry leaves, and C. aenigma, C. conoides and C. dematium showed high levels of virulence. Seedlings inoculated with the isolates developed similar symptoms to those seen in the orchards. This study provides the first reports for 11 of the 13 Colletotrichum species on sweet cherry in the world, except for C. aenigma and C. fructicola. This is the first comprehensive study of Colletotrichum species associated with cherry leaf spot in China and the results will provide basic knowledge to develop sustainable control measures for cherry leaf spot.
... Par exemple, en Norvège, l'installation trois à quatre semaines avant la récolte de couvertures anti-pluie est devenue une pratique courante chez les producteurs de cerises pour limiter l'éclatement des fruits. L'installation de telles couvertures durant les périodes pluvieuses de la floraison à la récolte permet, en outre, de supprimer la protection fongicide et d'obtenir une récolte saine (peu de fruits pourris par monilioses) (Borve et Stensvand, 2003). Plus récemment en France, des bâches anti-pluie associées à des filets anti-grêle ont été utilisées sur pommiers. ...
... В регионах с влажным и тёплым климатом, где часто наблюдаются сильные дожди, рекомендуют укрывать деревья в период от цветения до сбора урожая различными плёнками, как, напр., в Норвегии для защиты деревьев черешни от M. laxa и других возбудителей гнили плодов. Использование этого метода значительно уменьшило встречаемость болезни и сделало ненужным применение фунгицидов (Børve, Stensvand, 2003). ...
ABSTRACT
Batyr A. Khasanov, Rajabboy O. Ochilov, Fozil M. Boyjigitov. Brown fruit rot diseases of orchard trees. A monograph. Tashkent, 2019, 168 pages, with colour photos.
Key words: Fruit tree, blossom blight, brown rot, Junctoriae, Disjunctoriae, Monilinia, Monilia, control measures.
Brown rots are economically important and widely spread diseases of orchard trees in the world. Their symptoms are flower blight and fruit brown rot that can result in significant yield losses.
Causal agents of the brown rot diseases are ascomycete fungi of the genus Monilinia, with anamorph stages in the genus Monilia. Conidial stages of some Monilinia spp. have not been found, while in some other anamorphic species, vice versa, teleomorph stages are not known.
There are descriptions of some 40 species of the genus Monilinia in the scientific literature, but numbers of names of anamorphic (Monilia) species exceed 300 binomials. Among the latters there are some saprophytes, some others still are unresolved names and are not well studied.
Plant pathogenic representatives of the genus Monilinia are grouped in two – Junctoriae и Disjunctoriae – sections. There are six species described in the Junctoriae section till now, including well known pathogens of fruit trees – M. fructigena, M. laxa, M. fructicola, and recently described M. polystroma and two anamorphic species – Monilia mumecola and M. yunnanensis.
Section Disjunctoriae contains 28 species placed in five groups (or subsections). There are four more Monilinia species, which belonging to any of sections or groups is unknown.
Sections Junctoriae and Disjunctoriae, and some economically important species of the latter (M. kusanoi, M. linhartiana, M. mali M. vaccinii-corymbosi) are described minutely.
All six species of the section Junctoriae are up-to-date characterized in detail, including their geographic distribution, diagnostic characters, host range, symptoms of diseases caused, disease cycles and their ecology. Information about similarities and differences of Monilinia / Monilia species from the section Junctoriae, and current methods of their identification are given in the separate chapter.
Last chapter of the book analyses cultural, genetic / breeding, chemical, biological and non-chemical control methods of diseases, caused by Monilinia / Monilia species, and main components of the IPM system against these (and other) diseases of the orchard trees.
Attachment 1 enclosed at the end of the book contains Latin, Uzbek, Russian, and English common names of 132 species of fruit and other trees and shrubs as hosts of Monilinia / Monilia species. Attachment 2 contains a list of fungicides and PGRs currently registered for use on fruit trees in Uzbekistan. Glossary is given in the Attachment 3.
Keywords Moniliosis caused by the species of the Monilinia genus attacks fruit tree orchards wherever seeds fruits tree and stone fruits tree species are cultivated, producing economically significant losses. Monil-iosis is also present in Romanian orchards, requiring control of this disease because it can evolve both in the field and in storage conditions, too. The research aimed to test the antifungal in vitro activity of fenugreek extract against the pathogen Monilinia spp. Monilinia spp was isolated and successively replicated from fresh plant material, represented by apple fruits with specific sporodochia. The fenu-greek extract (ska) was tested in concentrations of 3.3% (ska 3,3%) and 10% (ska 10%), comparing the results with the control variant. At the 10% fenugreek extract, the fungus did not grow in the first 3 days, registering a vegetative growth after 6 days of incubation. After 12 days of incubation with the 10% fenugreek extract, the diameter of the mycelium colonies was 6.3 mm compared to the control variant, where the value of the colony diameter was 56.3 mm. The effectiveness of the fenugreek extract at a concentration of 10%, as a percentage of inhibition, was 88.80%. Monilinia spp., antifungal activity, efficacy To cite this article: CriSTeA STeliCA. Research on the action of fenugreek extract on the growth of the pathogen Monilinia spp. in vitro.
Sweet cherry fruits covered with aluminum foil bags at the beginning of pit hardening were visibly larger than those exposed to light when examined 14 days later. With ‘Bing’ fruits this difference in size remained nearly constant until harvest while with ‘Royal Ann’ it continued to diverge during “final swell.” The size of covered fruits was larger at harvest, but soluble solids content was much less than in exposed fruits. The alcohol insoluble substances (AIS) of control mesocarp tissue of ‘Bing’ decreased from 15 to 7% during the 2 weeks prior to harvest; those of dark-grown fruits decreased from 13 to 10%. The trends for the ‘Royal Ann’ fruits were similar. About 45% of the AIS was hydrolyzable with pectinase. Comparisons of levels of gibberellins, auxin-like and ABA-like substances between covered and exposed fruits showed neither consistent trends nor differences correlative to size increase during 3 weeks before harvest wherein the possible roles of these hormones could be ascribed. Humidity and ambient temp were not effective factors compared to light in this growth phenomenon.
Limbs of ‘Bing’ cherries ( Prunus avium L.) were shaded with neutral density shade structures to reduce light levels to 10–15% full sun. Three placement times were used: a) petal fall to pit hardening (PF-PH), b) pit hardening to harvest (PH-H), and c) petal fall to harvest (PF-H). Shaded limbs had reduced fruit set, and fruit color and soluble solids were less in comparison to fruit from unshaded limbs. Fruit from shaded limbs were smaller than unshaded for the first 2 harvests, but for the last 2 harvest dates, fruit shaded from PF-PH or PF-H were larger. The time to reach dark red maturity was delayed 5 days by shading from PF-PH or PH-H and 12 days by shading from PF-H. When compared at equal color maturities, fruit from unshaded limbs were firmer than those from shaded limbs. In a study using natural shade, the relationship of fruit color and soluble solids to the percentage of full sun (FS) was logarithmic, with both variables dramatically reduced at light levels below 10–15% FS. Neither fruit weight nor firmness were related to the percentage of FS.
Fruits of Vista and Bing sweet cherries and Montmorency sour cherry were harvested at weekly intervals between shuck fall and full maturity in 1986 and 1987. Unwounded fruits were inoculated individually with a 30-ml drop containing 10x6, 10x5, 10x4, or 10x3 conidia of Monilinia fructicola per milliliter. Fruits were evaluated for lesion development after incubation for 6 days at 20 C and relative humidity above 95%. Sweet cherries were more susceptible to infection than sour cherries at intermediate and low inoculum concentrations. Initially the immature fruits of both species were as highly susceptible to infection as mature fruits at inoculum concentrations of 10x6 conidia/ml. Host resistance rose with the onset of pit hardening but decreased 3 wk before maturity, coinciding with yellowing and reddening of the epidermal tissue. Fungicide protection against brown rot appears warranted at shuck fall and before harvest for both sweet and sour cherries. Midseason protection appears necessary for sweet cherries but not for Montmorency sour cherry.
Peach fruits of the cultivars Redhaven and Loring were harvested weekly beginning in early June and continuing to full ripeness. and were inoculated under controlled conditions with Monilinia fructicola at a range of 10x3-10x6 conidia/ml. In both years of the study, fruits were susceptible to infection at all inoculum concentrations for 2 to 3 wk in June. At pit hardening they became resistant to infection at all the inoculum concentrations. Fruits again became increasingly susceptible to infection approximately 2 wk before full ripeness.
The primary objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of plastic rain shelters and Colt and F.12/1 rootstocks on the rain-induced fruit cracking of sweet cherries (Primus avium L.). Fruit cracking on trees from Colt rootstock was ‘significantly reduced from 63% on covered trees to 5% on uncovered trees. However, no significant difference in the total number of cracked fruits was observed from covered and uncovered trees on F. 12/1 rootstock. Susceptibility to cracking was greater in fruits from covered trees on F. 12/1 rootstock. Fruits from covered trees were associated with a 10% increase in weight. This paper will discuss the implications of tree covers and rootstocks as they relate to their effects on rain-induced fruit cracking and on fruit-quality characteristics.