Rot control and management

Until recently post-harvest fungicide drenches would have been used almost exclusively for control of rotting in store.
This approach, though scientifically sound and with minimal risk to the operator and to the environment compared to pre-harvest orchard sprays, is no longer acceptable to the consumer and hence markets, because of the high residue remaining on fruit after treatment, which does not decline in store.
There are no longer any approved products for use on apples as post-harvest fungicide treatments.
Therefore, the emphasis must be on integrated control using pre-harvest orchard sprays and cultural control methods.

Active ingredient	Trade names	Fungicide group	Safety to Typhs	Storage rots controlled
captan	Captan 80 WDG PP Captan 80 WG	phthalimide	safe	Neonectria Gloeosporium Colletotrichum Phytophthora
cyprodinil + fludioxonil	Switch	anilinopyri-midine + cyanopyrrole	safe	Brown rot Neonectria Penicillium Colletotrichum Fusarium Gloeosporium
metalaxyl-M + mancozeb	Fubol Gold (EAMU 2282/2013 )	phenylamide + dithiocarbamate	safe (applied to orchard floor)	Phytophthora
pyraclostrobin + boscalid	Bellis	strobylurine (QoI)+ anilide	safe	Gloeosporium Botrytis Penicillium Phytophthora Nectria

d = dangerous; h = harmful; ir = irritating, a = may cause allergic reaction, t = toxic

PH = post harvest; Pre bb = pre-bud burst, sm=statutory minimum of 5 m for broadcast air assisted sprayers

u=uncategorised/unclassified/unspecified, c=closed cab required for air assisted sprayers

Fungal rot	Inoculum sources	Control options
Penicillium rot	Dirty fruit bins Damaged fruit	Bin hygiene Selective picking – only sound fruit in the bin Good harvest supervision
Mucor rot	Dirty fruit bins Damaged fruit Soil contamination
Botrytis rot	Dirty fruit bins Damaged fruit Plant debris

Fungal rot	Assessment timing	Orchard Risk	Rot history	Rain	Decision
Brown rot	July / August	orchard incidence high (>1%)	N/A	N/A	Selective picking at harvest and / or Market fruit early
Brown rot	July / August	Orchard incidence low	N/A	N/A	Selective picking at harvest
Botrytis (eye rot)	August	N/A	Moderate-high incidence	Rain June to Harvest average or > average	Market fruit by January
		N/A	Moderate-high incidence	Rain June to Harvest < average	No specific action needed
		N/A	Low incidence	Rain June-Harvest =average or < average	No specific action needed
Neonectria rot	April	Moderate-high incidence cankered trees	Moderate – high incidence	N/A	Apply fungicide spray in blossom and petal fall
	April	Low incidence cankered trees	Low incidence	N/A	No fungicide treatment in blossom/petal fall needed
	August / September	Low-high incidence cankered trees	N/A	>average rain blossom-harvest	Market fruit before January if no sprays applied in blossom/petal fall
		Moderate-high incidence cankered trees	N/A	average rain blossom-harvest
		High incidence cankered trees	N/A

Fungal rot	Assessment timing	Orchard Risk		Rain in 15 days pre-harvest	Decision
Fungal rot	Assessment timing	% bare ground	% crop <0.5 m above ground	Rain in 15 days pre-harvest	Decision
Phytophthora rot	Mid July	0% = overall grass, weed cover or mulch	N/A	N/A	No sprays needed
	Mid July	20% or > bareground	>15%	N/A	Apply fungicide 28 and 14 days pre-harvest or delay action until harvest
	August / September / Harvest	0% = overall grass, weed cover or mulch	N/A	N/A	No specific action as risk very low
		20% or > bareground	> 15%	low or no rain = low risk	No specific action as risk very low
			> 15%	20 mm or > = high risk	Selective pick at harvest or market fruit early to minimise losses if no fungicide treatment applied
			< 15%	N/A	No specific action as risk very low

Apple Best Practice Guide