Peach (Prunus persica L.), a globally cultivated fruit crop belonging to the family Rosaceae, is severely affected by fungal shot hole in production areas worldwide. In this study, symptomatic peach fruit (P. persica ‘Xiahui 1’) exhibiting typical fungal shot hole lesions were collected from Lhasa, Xizang Autonomous Region, China. The symptoms appeared as sunken lesions with reddish-brown margins, which often coalesced to form larger spots under severe disease conditions. Three fungal isolates were obtained from symptomatic fruit. Morphological characterization determined that conidia were spindle-shaped with ovate apical cells, truncated basal cells, and ranged from hyaline to pale brown or dark brown, containing 0-7 transverse septa (predominantly 2-3) and occasional 1-2 oblique septa. Phylogenetic analysis based on ITS, LSU, and tef1 gene sequences confirmed the identity of the isolates as Wilsonomyces carpophilus. Pathogenicity tests demonstrated that inoculation of detached healthy fruit and leaves (P. persica 'Qingzhou Mitao') and leaves of peach seedlings (P. persica 'Xinjiang Maotao') resulted in symptoms consistent with those observed in naturally infected samples. The pathogen was successfully reisolated from all inoculated plant tissues, fulfilling Koch’s postulates. This study represents the first report of W. carpophilus isolation from symptomatic peach fruit in the Xizang Autonomous Region, China.
Feng et al. (Tue,) studied this question.