Stem end rot of mango: Characterizing disease dynamics and fruit quality deterioration from farm to retail in Saurashtra

A roving survey was conducted from May to July 2024 across orchards, wholesale and retail mango markets in Junagadh and Gir Somnath districts of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat. The survey revealed a significant increase in mango stem end rot (SER) severity as fruits moved from field to market. Field incidence ranged from 3.34-30.06% (severity: 1.65-13.6%), escalating to 11.69-28.39% incidence (severity: 7.59-17.82%) in wholesale markets and 15.03-40.08% incidence (severity: 14.19-37.95%) in retail markets. A similar trend was observed for fruit weight loss, which increased from 9.50-15.60% in the field to 11.71-18.13% in wholesale and 13.19-26.35% in retail markets. This progressive escalation in disease prevalence and fruit deterioration highlight the critical post-harvest management challenges posed by stem end rot across the mango supply chain.