Abstract:

Our survey of persimmon fruits marketed in Shanghai during August 2010 to October 2012 showed that all
persimmons except those from Shanxi province had either “black rot granules in flesh” or “black rot at the top of fruit”.
Suberization in black rot granules and mycelium in black rot tissues at the top of the flesh or in some black rot granules
were observed by scanning electron microscope. Cladosporium spp. were isolated from the black rot granules in all batches
of persimmons with a detection rate of up to 41.27%, which confirmed that Cladosporium spp. may be one of the causes
of black rot granules in persimmons. The most pathogenic fungus was obtained by wounding and inoculation with the
fungi isolated from black rot tissues at the top of persimmon flesh according to Koch’s Rule and identified as Alternaria
tenuissima by morphological characterization, rDNA ITS analysis and endopolygalacturonase gene analysis. Taken together,
our results provide a useful reference for making countermeasures against this disease.

Key words: persimmon, black rot, Cladosporium spp., Alternaria tenuissima