Punjab Agricultural University, Ludhiana
*Present Address: Head of the Department of Plant Pathology, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore-641003.
Alternaria citri and Colletotrichum gloeosporioides causing stylar and stalk-end rots respectively in sweet orange fruits were inoculated on sweet orange fruits. Fruits inoculated with C. gloeosporioides were completely rotten in 20 days, whereas those inoculated with A citri showed only partial rotting externally. Both the fungi did not significantly affect the weight of the fruits and volume of the juice but reduced total soluble solids and reducing sugars. A. citri did not affect acidity and ascorbic acid contents in the fruit juice whereas these ingredients were significantly reduced in fruits infected by C. gloeosporioides in 20 days. The colour of juice from infected fruits was changed from yellow to grey by A. citri and to brown by C. gloeosporioides.
