Experimental Data for: Assessing alternative strategies to control almond red leaf blotch through the reduction of Polystigma amygdalinum inoculum on leaf litter

Red leaf blotch (RLB) of almond, caused by the fungus Polystigma amygdalinum P.F. Cannon, is one of the most important leaf diseases affecting almond trees (Prunus amygdalus Batsch [=Prunus dulcis (Mill.) D.A. Webb]) in the Mediterranean basin and Middle East regions. In 2022 and 2023, samples of RLB-infected almond leaf litter were treated with different chemical products to reduce the pathogen inoculum. The presence of Polystigma amygdalinum was quantified by two methods: ascospore counts under a microscope and fungal biomass estimation using qPCR (Files 1 and 2). In 2020 and 2022, airborne ascospores were monitored on a weekly scale through Hirst-type air samplers and quantified through qPCR methods in an almond orchard located in Lleida (NE Spain), in three plots corresponding to different cultural practices aimed at reducing the airborne inoculum (Files 3, 4, and 5). In the same location, RLB symptoms (incidence and severity) were assessed at the end of the growing season to evaluate the effect of the cultural practices on the disease control (File 6).