Success StoryRotten Apples: When Research and Extension Join Forces to Find Solutions
Rotten Apples: When Research and Extension Join Forces to Find Solutions
Author: Nicole Gauthier
Planning Unit: Plant Pathology
Major Program: Commercial Horticulture
Outcome: Intermediate Outcome
Apples are the most commonly grown fruit in Kentucky. Approximately 672 orchards produce between 450,000 and 750,000 bushels of apples per year, a value of $24.4 to $40.6 million. Most orchards in Kentucky have an agritourism focus and consist of mixed fruit plantings or specialty produce. Apple, blueberry, grape, peach, and strawberry are all susceptible to anthracnose diseases caused by the same family of fungi. Bitter rot of apple is the most significant of these diseases with an average yield loss of 30% (range 10% to 90%). Anthracnose fruit rots of other fruits are less severe and only cause significant losses during periods of excess rain.
This study of bitter rot on apple led to the phylogenetic and morphological identification of six species of Colletotrichum that can infect or cross infect apple, blueberry, and strawberry. New information indicated that management of anthracnose diseases on blueberry (ripe rot) and strawberry (anthracnose), neither of which cause significant disease loss, may be necessary to prevent spread to nearby apples. Interruption of the cross-infection cycle is an important step in mitigating disease losses in apple.
Understanding the fungi that cause bitter rot on apple and anthracnose on other fruits required large numbers of samples, multiple years of study, and a multifaceted research approach. This project was possible through a partnership between Extension and research faculty in the Department of Plant Pathology. Expertise of collaborators came together between 2012 and 2020 to study anthracnose diseases across Kentucky. By the end of the study, the team developed grower trainings, fact sheets, and new management recommendations that are helping growers better understand spread and infection within their orchards. Also resulting were peer reviewed research publications that are vital to pathologists in all apple growing regions of the world, two graduate student degrees, and several undergraduate research internships and educational opportunities. This project will continue to expand to provide support for growers, as well as student research opportunities.
Stories by Nicole Gauthier
A Virtual Approach to County-Based Specialty Crops Programs
Kentucky farmers produce a wide range of specialty crops. In 2017, fruit and vegetable production in... Read More
Plan, Adapt, Execute: Taking a Hemp Grower Training Online
Industrial hemp was re-introduced to Kentucky in 2014 through the Farm Bills new pilot program. By ... Read More
Stories by Plant Pathology
Improvement of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Education for Small-Scale Specialty Crop Producers Through Extension Agent and Grower Training
According to the USDA – NASS State Profile of Kentucky the value of vegetable and fruit production t... Read More
Educating Tomato Growers through Virtual Methods
Kentucky commercial growers produce a wide range of specialty crops, such as vegetables and fruit. I... Read More
Stories by Commercial Horticulture

Commercial Tomato Grower Fights Pest and Disease with Recommendations from UK
A local commercial tomato producer has struggled for the last two years with his production on his l... Read More
Cut Flower Production in Kentucky
In a horticulture interest survey that the Warren County Extension Agent for Horticulture distribute... Read More
© 2024 University of Kentucky, Martin-Gatton College of Agriculture, Food and Environment