First report of Fusarium ipomoeae and F. citri causing postharvest fruit rot of winter squash (Cucurbita maxima)

In December 2019, fungal isolates were isolated from rotting fruit tissue of winter squash ( Cucurbita maxima ) in storage in Hokkaido, Japan, and identified as Fusarium ipomoeae and F. citri based on DNA sequencing analysis and morphological features. After inoculation of wounds in winter squash fruit, the isolates caused similar symptoms and subsequently reisolated. These isolates were identified as causal agents of postharvest fruit rot of winter squash for the first time in the world.