Exported Strawberry Gray Mold Decay Related Spore Density and Disease Incidence in Cultivation Field

Abstract

Exports of strawberries are currently expanding and have risen by 65% in the last few years. However, the occurrence of gray mold disease in packed strawberries has emerged. Gray mold disease, caused by Botrytis cinerea, leads to the decomposition of strawberries, reducing the total harvesting of the fruit by up to 50%. In this study, to determine the correlation between cultivation fields and a packing center of disease incidence and spore density, investigation were conducted for two consecutive years. The strawberry cultivation fields showed the highest disease incidence from March to May in both years. However, in both fields the pathogen spores in the air showed similar density during cultivation periods as 105 cfu/L of air in the first year and 104 cfu/L of air for the second year. In the packing center, the spore density patterns were similar to those in the fields. Temperature and humidity emerged as having the most correlation with incidence of the disease in the fields. The major finding in this study was that the source inocula of packed strawberry were derived from the cultivation fields. The findings can be utilized to effectively control gray mold decay in export strawberry production.