Prevalence of Different Post Harvest Rots of Papaya in Subtropical Zone of Himachal Pradesh

Papaya “The Common Man's Fruit” is grown throughout the tropics and sub tropics and is relished for its good taste and medicinal properties. Papaya fruits are highly susceptible to various post harvest rots. During the present investigation, different post harvest rots of papaya were found to be prevalent throughout the year at five fruit markets surveyed in district Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh during May, 2019 to April, 2020. The pathogens associated were identified as Colletotrichum fructicola, C. truncatum, Rhizopus stolonifer, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium pallidoroseum and Alternaria sp. to cause various post harvest rots in the region. Among these rots, Fusarium rot caused by F. pallidoroseum was the most prevalent followed by anthracnose caused by C. fructicola. During pathogenicity experiments, an incubation period of 3 days each was recorded in case of C. fructicola, C. truncatum and F. pallidoroseum while, that of 1, 2 and 4 days was recorded in case of R. stolonifer, A. flavus and Alternaria sp., respectively indicating the confirmed association of these pathogens with the rots. Symptoms of each rot varied initially, but ultimately lead to rotting of the fruit.