Plant Defense
Plants' first lines of defense against A. mali infection are the physical barrier provided by the epidermis on the primary body and the periderm on the secondary body. A. mali can still penetrate the stomates and hydathodes of leaves.
As with most pathogens, Alternaria mali resistance involves a gene-for-gene relationship. Apple trees can recognize invading pathogens and mount a defense. Often, the plant may be able to resist the pathogen, even though it has no genetic resistance to same. Apple trees seem to have a weak defense to A. mali, base on the fact that no survivors if leaves has been infected.
Read more about this topic: Alternaria Mali
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