a uniform wound (3 mm deep × 6 mm wide) was made at the equator of each fruit using a sterile nail. The white latex was removed from the wound using a pipette, and then 20-L of spore suspension of C. gloeosporioides (1 × 106 spores per milliliter) was inoculated into the wounded site using a pipette.
Inoculated fruit were stored at 25 ± 1 ◦C and RH 85–90%. Lesion diameter was recorded at 2, 4, 6 and 8 d after inoculation. Three replicates were performed for each treatment, and each replicate contained 30 fruit. Uninoculated fruit were stored under the same conditions to evaluate natural decay and physio-biochemical parameters at regular intervals.