{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,25]],"date-time":"2026-09-25T16:09:40Z","timestamp":1790352580273,"version":"4.1.0"},"reference-count":31,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"14","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,12]],"date-time":"2022-07-12T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1657584000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"Higher Education Commission","award":["9739\/Federal\/NRPU\/R&D\/HEC\/2017"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["9739\/Federal\/NRPU\/R&D\/HEC\/2017"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Molecules"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Cherry is a fleshy drupe, and it is grown in temperate regions of the world. It is perishable, and several biotic and abiotic factors affect its yield. During April\u2013May 2021, a severe fruit rot of cherry was observed in Swat and adjacent areas. Diseased fruit samples were collected, and the disease-causing pathogen was isolated on PDA. Subsequent morphological, microscopic, and molecular analyses identified the isolated pathogen as Aspergillus flavus. For the control of the fruit rot disease of cherry, iron oxide nanoparticles (Fe2O3 NPs) were synthesized in the leaf extract of Calotropis procera and characterized. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy of synthesized Fe2O3 NPs showed the presence of capping and stabilizing agents such as alcohols, aldehydes, and halo compounds. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis verified the form and size (32 nm) of Fe2O3 NPs. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed the spinal-shaped morphology of synthesized Fe2O3 NPs while X-ray diffraction (EDX) analysis displayed the occurrence of main elements in the samples. After successful preparation and characterization of NPs, their antifungal activity against A. flavus was determined by poison technique. Based on in vitro and in vivo antifungal activity analyses, it was observed that 1.0 mg\/mL concentration of Fe2O3 can effectively inhibit the growth of fungal mycelia and decrease the incidence of fruit rot of cherry. The results confirmed ecofriendly fungicidal role of Fe2O3 and suggested that their large-scale application in the field to replace toxic chemical fungicides.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/molecules27144461","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,12]],"date-time":"2022-07-12T20:52:41Z","timestamp":1657659161000},"page":"4461","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":19,"title":["First Report of Fruit Rot of Cherry and Its Control Using Fe2O3 Nanoparticles Synthesized in Calotropis procera"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"27","author":[{"given":"Mohammad Sameer","family":"Zubair","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-6897-2012","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Muhammad Farooq Hussain","family":"Munis","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ibtisam M.","family":"Alsudays","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science and Arts, Qassim University, Unaizah 56452, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3043-2093","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Khalid H.","family":"Alamer","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Biological Sciences Department, Faculty of Science and Arts, King Abdulaziz University, Rabigh 21911, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Urooj","family":"Haroon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Asif","family":"Kamal","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Musrat","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Junaid","family":"Ahmed","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Zimen","family":"Ahmad","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Plant Sciences, Faculty of Biological Sciences, Quaid-i-Azam University, Islamabad 45320, Pakistan"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Houneida","family":"Attia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Biology, College of Science, Taif University, P.O. Box 11099, Taif 21944, Saudi Arabia"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2022,7,12]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","first-page":"343","DOI":"10.1021\/jf00050a015","article-title":"Characterization, quantitation, and distribution of anthocyanins and colorless phenolics in sweet cherries","volume":"43","author":"Gao","year":"1995","journal-title":"J. Agric. Food Chem."},{"key":"ref_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Serradilla, M.J., Hern\u00e1ndez, A., L\u00f3pez-Corrales, M., Ruiz-Moyano, S., de Gu\u00eda C\u00f3rdoba, M., and Mart\u00edn, A. (2016). Composition of the Cherry (Prunus avium L. and Prunus cerasus L.; Rosaceae). 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