Monilinia fructicola is not the causal agent of stone fruit rot in Zimbabwe

Abstract

Pests associated with the fruit pathway are the determining factor in market access negotiations. Unconfirmed records of the occurrence and distribution of a pest in a country can lead to disputes. A report published in 1980 indicated that Monilinia fructicola is present in Zimbabwe and therefore hindering both market access and negotiations for access to new export markets for fresh stone fruit. To confirm this report, as stone fruit exports are an important foreign exchange earner for Zimbabwe, detection surveys were conducted in 2019 in the stone fruit production areas. The identities of fungal isolates were verified by using morphological and molecular characterisation. None of the fungal isolates tested positive for Monilinia species. This study confirmed that M. fructicola is not present in Zimbabwe and that stone fruit rot in Zimbabwe is not caused by Monilinia species. Therefore, the status of M. fructicola in Zimbabwe can be reported as: ‘Absent: pest records invalid’.

Key words:

• market access
• pest records

Acknowledgements

The Plant Quarantine Services Institute, Ministry of Agriculture Zimbabwe and the Crop Protection Division at The Tobacco Research Board are thanked for financial, technical and administrative support. Prof Lizel Mostert is gratefully acknowledged for her most valuable guidance and advice on this study and Dr Beatrix Coetzee for critical review of the manuscript.