Fungal diversity associated with cherry fruit rot in the Shandong province, China

Sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) is commonly affected by fruit rot, leading to reduction in yield and economic loss. In 2022, 144 symptomatic cherry fruit were randomly collected from 11 orchards in Yantai city. A total of 107 fungal strains were isolated and classified into eight species based on morphological and multi-locus phylogenetic analysis, including Alternaria alternata/tenuissima species complex (79.44%), Fusarium lateritium species complex (FLSC) (9.34%), F. verticillioides (2.80%), F. incarnatum (2.80%), F. proliferatum (1.87%), Diaporthe eres (1.87%), Botryosphaeria dothidea (0.94%), and Nothophoma quercina (0.94%), wherein A. alternata/tenuissima species complex was the most dominant genus. All fungal isolates showed aggressiveness on both wounded and unwounded cherry fruit, wherein D. eres exhibited the strongest virulence, and F. verticillioides had the lowest pathogenicity. This work systematically studied the fungal pathogens related to cherry fruit rot and first reported D. eres, B. dothidea, F. verticillioides, F. incarnatum, and N. quercina as the causal agents associated with cherry fruit rot in China. The results of this study will be helpful to get a better understanding about the causal agents of cherry fruit rot in China and provide a theoretical basis for the field control of this disease.