Comparative studies of different isolates of Neonectria ditissima obtained from canker lesions and rotten fruit showed that both five-septate macroconidia and aseptate microconidia were capable of germination by germ-tube formation, but that growth commenced earlier and proceeded faster from the former than the latter type of spore. Further, following wound inoculation of apple fruit with different numbers of conidia (50, 500 or 5000 per wound) the resulting rot lesions were always significantly larger with macroconidia than microconidia, and in both conidial types lesion size increased with higher inoculum loads. These data confirm that microconidia are capable of causing infections, but indicate that their contribution to the success of the pathogen in the field is probably negligible.

对从溃疡病灶和腐烂的水果中获得的不同分离株进行的比较研究表明，五隔膜大分生孢子和无隔膜小分生孢子都能够通过胚芽管形成萌发，但前者的生长比后一种类型更早开始并且进行得更快孢子。此外，在用不同数量的分生孢子（每个伤口 50、500 或 5000）接种苹果果实后，大分生孢子产生的腐烂病灶总是明显大于小分生孢子，并且在这两种分生孢子类型中，病灶大小随着接种量的增加而增加。这些数据证实小分生孢子能够引起感染，但表明它们对田间病原体成功的贡献可能可以忽略不计。