Chile's Agriculture and Livestock Service (SAG) has downgraded the control measures for a certain fungus that affects stonefruit.

The plant pathogen Monilinia fructicola mainly occurs in peaches, nectarines and plums causing brown rot, and has now been reclassified from a quarantined pest under obligatory control to simply a pest present in the country.

Monilinia fructicola is most prevalent in the central Metropolitan and VI (O'Higgins) regions, and is found to a lesser extent in in VII (Maule) and IV (Coquimbo) regions.

SAG emphasized that despite the pest's reclassification, it was important for stonefruit growers to continue their treatments on the fruit considered to be at risk.

The organization added the pest had been linked to certain weather conditions, becoming particularly problematic during times of high humidity and warm temperatures.

It also said it recommended the use of chemical-based fungicides during the flowering and pre-harvest stages as that was when the fruit was most susceptible to the pest.

Photo: www.shutterstock.com

www.freshfruitportal.com