MORPHOLOGICAL IDENTIFICATION AND MANAGEMENT OF FUNGAL POST-HARVEST PATHOGENS OF PEACH (Prunus persica L)

The present study was designed to determine the fungal post-harvest pathogens of peach from fruit markets of Dhok kala khan, Raja Bazaar and Mandi Mor located in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. During the year 2016-17, 36 fruits from were collected randomly and morphological characterization of fungal isolates confirmed that Botrytis cineria, Aspergillus niger, Rhizopus stolinifer and M. piriformis are causing post-harvest rot of peach. Among all these, R. stolinifer was found to be most prevalent pathogen. The essential oil of brassica, taramira and ginger were used for management of R. stolinifer with 0.05%, 0.5% and 5% concentration. Taramira oil at 5% concentration resisted the growth of R. stolinifer after 3 and 5 days while only 0.1 mm growth was recorded after 7 days.