Apple Fruit Disease Assessment and Identification. Thomas E. Starkey, Assistant Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens 30602. Floyd F. Hendrix, Jr., Professor, Department of Plant Pathology and Plant Genetics, University of Georgia, Athens 30602. Plant Dis. 64:56-57. Accepted for publication 21 March 1979. Copyright 1980 American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-64-56.

When assessing apple fruit rot, care must be taken to insure that improper sampling techniques do not misestimate the effectiveness of a particular treatment. A harvest sampling alone is not sufficient to evaluate control of fruit rots. At least two other samplings should be collected during the growing season to detect infected fruit that may drop before harvest. Apple fruit rots should not be diagnosed solely on the basis of symptoms. Isolations should be made and the pathogen identified.