ABSTRACT
Apple (Malus x domestica Borkh.) is an important temperate fruit crop throughout the world. Its production and productivity are significantly affected by different diseases of fungal, bacterial and viral etiology. Various fungal diseases infecting apple are scab, Alternaria leaf blotch, Marssonina leaf spot or Marssonina leaf blotch, sooty blotch, flyspeck disease, root rot, collar rot, etc. Similarly, fire blight and crown gall of apple are major bacterial diseases infecting apple crop. Apple mosaic virus, apple chlorotic leaf spot virus, apple stem pitting virus, apple stem grooving virus, apple scar skin viroid and apple rubbery wood are some of the major viruses and virus-like diseases infecting apples in all apple growing areas of the world. These diseases not only affect the production but also the quality of marketable produce. Fungal foliar diseases of apples can be managed effectively by the recommended chemical spray schedule given by various research organization like Sher-e-Kashmir University of Agricultural Sciences and Technology, Kashmir (SKUAST-K), Shalimar, Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Similarly, the management of bacterial and viral diseases using disease-free planting materials, antibiotics and viral indexing for viral diseases play an important role in apple disease management strategy. Therefore, management of these diseases in an integrated manner using different disease management strategies like orchard sanitation, the use of biological control agents, the use of resistant plant varieties, chemical management, etc. is of the foremost importance for quality production of apples.
