MSU Researcher Warns Against Quick Spread Of Botrytis Gray Mold In Berries

Posted by Christina Bucciere|July 8, 2014

Summer’s rain showers and high relative humidity promotes the growth of Botrytis gray mold in raspberries and strawberries.

Caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, this mold is one of the most important fruit rot diseases affecting berries growers need to monitor.

Symptoms include a spreading brown rot and fuzzy gray mold on ripening berries. As gray mold develops on infected berries, these become sources of inoculum secondary infections of adjacent berries. The gray mold fungus overwinters on old leaves and plant debris and can sporulate profusely on dead and decaying plant material.

Michigan State University researcher Annemiek Schilder discusses an array of fungicides growers can use for gray mold control and suggests alternating fungicides classes for resistance management.

To read more about this topic, including control methods, click here.