Biological prevention and control of pitaya fruit canker disease using endophytic fungi isolated from papaya

Pitaya fruit canker is an important disease in pitaya production. Facilitating resistance through the application of biological control principles is a promising alternative to traditional control strategies. This study evaluated the induced resistance of Penicillium rolfsii, numbered Y17 isolated from papaya leaves in pitaya fruit, and evaluated the activity of the defense enzymes, total antioxidant capacity (T-AOC), and malondialdehyde (MDA) content of the treated fruit. The results demonstrate that treatment with Y17 effectively induced resistance of pitaya fruit to canker disease caused by Neoscytalidium dimidiatum, with an inhibition rate of 70.87%. In addition, Y17 notably improved the activities of peroxidase, catalase, and polyphenol oxidase as well as the T-AOC of the treated samples. Y17 treatment reduced the MDA content in these fruits. Taken together, our results suggest that Y17 treatment could trigger pitaya fruit defense responses and effectively induce resistance to fruit canker disease.