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Abstract
The pre and postharvest disease named ‘aqueous spot’ is an emerging risk for sweet cherries growing in Jerte Valley (Cáceres, Spain). Early stages of the disease appear in the tree, but it is usually detected after harvesting, during the postharvest period. Symptoms include the appearance of skin discolouration and translucency in the shoulder areas. At the most advanced stages, a mycelium of white colour partially or completely covers the fruit. This manuscript provides a detailed description of the microbes involved in this disease, such as bacteria, yeasts, and moulds. Microbes of different cherry cultivars were studied during two consecutive seasons (2019 and 2020). The counts of bacteria and yeast in damaged tissues were higher (7.05 and 6.38 log10 CFU/g for total aerobic mesophilic microbes and yeasts, respectively) than sound tissues (6.08 and 5.19 log10 CFU/g, respectively). The Enterobacterales order dominated the bacteria population. Among yeasts, Yarrowia lipolytica, in 2019, and Metschnikowia pulcherrima and Metschnikowia viticola, in 2020, were consistently isolated from all samples. The presence of moulds was inconsistently detected at the early stage of this disease by plate counts. However, microscopic observations revealed the presence of hyphae in cherry flesh. Different pathogenic moulds were identified, although white mycelium, identified as Botrytis cinerea by molecular methods, was consistently isolated at later stages. Inoculation tests confirmed the involvement of white-mycelium B. cinerea in the development of this new postharvest disease in the Jerte Valley. Its combination with Enterobacterales enhanced the evolution of rotting, whereas the combination with yeasts decreased and delayed the symptoms. This work presents the first report of a consortia of microorganisms implicated in the development of ‘aqueous spot’, an emerging disease in sweet cherry cultivars in the Jerte Valley.
Highlights
The Jerte Valley (Extremadura, Southwest of Spain) is the most important sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) production area in Spain
Monilia laxa [9], A. alternata [37], P. crustosum [11], F. oxysporum [38] and B. cinerea [13] have been associated with different diseases of sweet cherries
Summary
The Jerte Valley (Extremadura, Southwest of Spain) is the most important sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) production area in Spain. This region has an area of 7524 ha, with a potential yield of more than 41,000 tons [1]. Besides the autochthonous ‘Picota’ type cherries [2–4], the catalogue of cultivars in the Jerte Valley is extensive, producing from the end of April to the beginning of August. Cultivars, the most important regarding yield is ‘Burlat’, ‘Van’ as a mid-season cultivar, and as late cultivars, ‘Lapins’ and ‘Sweetheart’. Sweet cherries are highly perishable because of their high respiration rate, and they can be damaged by mechanical forces, physiological disorders, or microbiological spoilage
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