Apple orchards in the coastal regions of the Western Cape, such as Elgin, are affected to a greater extent by rising winter temperatures than those in the colder inland regions such as the Koue Bokkeveld. The question we have been trying to answer through our research is whether this change in temperature has increased the risk of apples acquiring fungal diseases.
Apple scab, one such disease, is caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis, commonly known as Fusi. It is responsible for high economic losses to the apple export industry due to the blemishes and deformities it causes on the fruit.
The fungus overwinters in fallen leaf debris, where it reproduces sexually to form round, spore-bearing structures, called pseudothecia, within the leaf tissue. When conditions are favourable for scab infection in spring (16°C to 20°C, during rainy periods), the spores are discharged, causing infection in young leaves and developing flowers and fruit.
Regional Variation
In 2017, Dr Trevor Koopman of the Agricultural Research Council made an intriguing discovery using genetic fingerprinting of apple scab fungi during his studies in the Fruit and Postharvest Pathology Research Programme led by Dr Cheryl Lennox at Stellenbosch University.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 13, 2020 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
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هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة March 13, 2020 من Farmer's Weekly.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
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