EVALUATION OF 2 SCREENING METHODS FOR RESISTANCE OF APRICOT, PLUM ANDPEACH TO MONILINIA-LAXA

Monilinia laxa causes important pre- and post-harvest losses in stonef ruit. In order to initiate a breeding programme for increased resistan ce to M. laxa, two screening tests were used. In the ''uninjured fruit inoculation'' test, 30 mature fruits of each variety were inoculated on their surface by depositing 20 mu l of conidial suspension. In the ''artificially injured fruit inoculation'' test, 10 mature fruits were inoculated on both sides by injecting 20 mu l of conidial suspension. Genotypic differences were found in both tests, within the three spec ies studied. Marked differences were observed in the uninjured fruit i noculation test. Differences between genotypes were slighter in the ar tificially injured fruit inoculation test. Within each species, the ra nkings of the genotypes according to the two tests were not correlated . Both testing procedures would be usefully applied in a breeding prog ramme to obtain genotypes with combined resistance to Monilinia laxa.