Susceptibility of quince fruit to postharvest fungal pathogens

Quince (Cydonia oblonga Mill.) is a nutritionally rich and fragrant pome fruit. In Serbia it is grown on 1660 ha with an average yearly production of ~14000 t. The production of quince is small compared to other pome fruits but is of great traditional value which is why Serbia is one of the main producers in Europe. Quince is primarily used for brandy but also for marmalade, juice, jam, syrup, compote etc. Quince fruit can be stored for up to seven months but is susceptible to decay while in storage. Postharvest pathogens, including Botrytis, Penicillium, Botryosphaeria, and Diplodia genera are known to cause rot in different species of fruits. In order to evaluate the susceptibility of quince to these postharvest pathogens, quince fruit 'Leskovacka' were artificially inoculated with Botryosphaeria dothidea, Diplodia seriata, Botrytis cinerea, Penicillium solitum, and P. glabrum. Symptom development and lesion size were evaluated at 7 and 11 days after inoculation. Differences were observed in the susceptibility of quince fruit to the different species of postharvest fungal pathogens. Quince fruit exhibited high susceptibility to B. dothidea and D. seriata, moderate susceptibility to B. cinerea, low susceptibility to P. solitum, and was the least susceptible to P. glabrum.