Glomerella leaf spot (GLS) and apple bitter rot (ABR), collectively associated with over 20 Colletotrichum species, are two distinct diseases that cause substantial losses in apple production. In this study, phylogenetic analysis of 177 isolates collected across five provinces in northern China identified four species within the Colletotrichum gloeosporioides species complex (CGSC), namely C. aenigma, C. fructicola, C. gloeosporioides and C. siamense. C. siamense was the dominant agent of ABR (68.8%) whereas C. aenigma was the primary cause of GLS (76.9%), a pattern distinct from pathogen populations in the American continents. Fungicide profiling of the 177 isolates revealed that 41.2% of isolates showed high-level resistance to the quinone outside inhibitor (QoI) fungicide pyraclostrobin, largely attributable to the G143A mutation in the cytb gene. In contrast, sensitivity to the DMI fungicide difenoconazole remained largely unaltered. Inter- and intraspecific variation in fungicide tolerance was evident, with C. aenigma exhibiting significantly greater tolerance to both pyraclostrobin and difenoconazole compared to C. siamense. Further screening of nine additional fungicides identified prochloraz, fluazinam, penthiopyrad, and cyprodinil as highly effective against pyraclostrobin-resistant isolates. This study reveals the diversity of Colletotrichum pathogens of apple in northern China and highlights a critical need for fungicide resistance surveillance in production, and provides useful information for mitigating QoI fungicide resistance based on rational fungicide rotation.
Chen et al. (2026) studied this question.