Kontext

During the last decade, a great many resources have been dedicated to understanding the epidemiology and control of rot caused by Monilinia spp., the main pathogen in stone fruit. However, the spread over the last 5-6 years of Geotrichum spp. which causes sour rot, with incidence even higher than Monilia spp. in some cases, makes it essential to study the epidemiology and infection process of the fungus, as well as control measures in the field and/or post-harvest to reduce its incidence as far as possible. At present, there is no specific treatment for this fungus and although the efficacy of certain active substances has been reported in other countries, in Spain they are either not authorised for farming or have been used and not proved truly effective. Consequently, the emergence of this new scenario in which Geotrichum is increasingly gaining strength will be a major challenge for companies in the sector, which will have to face a new enemy whose epidemiology and tools for its control are still unknown. It is true that the source of the inoculum is the field, but it is during post-harvest that its aggressiveness causes most of the losses and complaints, hence the financial cost of a consignment affected by sour rot reaching the destination market, e.g. containers exported to Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, etc., not only has a major economic impact, but also a major impact on customer confidence and on the environment.