March 18, 2024 | New Zealand Journal of Crop and Horticultural Science |
A collaborative study between Fiji National University, Fiji, and the University of the Sunshine Coast, Australia, explored postharvest diseases of mangoes in Fiji, an area where research on this subject has been limited. This comprehensive field and market survey aimed to identify the occurrence and causal agents of these diseases. The field survey involved harvesting mangoes from five local cultivars across five locations and five imported cultivars from one location in Nadi. Market surveys were conducted at five municipal markets and ten roadside stalls.
The fruits were incubated at 23°C and assessed for postharvest diseases, specifically body rots and stem end rots, upon ripening. Fungal cultures from disease lesions were identified using multilocus sequence typing. High incidences of both body and stem end rots were observed in all surveys. Among local cultivars, 'Salusalu' exhibited the lowest severity of these diseases, whereas 'Nam Doc Mai' showed the lowest severity among imported cultivars. The market survey revealed that 'Salusalu' had a lower incidence of anthracnose but a higher incidence of stem end rot at some locations.
Fungal isolates identified included Colletotrichum asianum, C. simmondsii, and C. fructicola, with C. asianum being predominant. Lasiodiplodia theobromae and Neofusicoccum parvum were the main species associated with stem end rot. This study marks the first report of these fungi in Fiji.