No abstract

BACKGROUND: Botrytis bunch rot, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is an economically important disease of grapes in Australia and across grape-growing regions worldwide. Control of this disease relies on canopy management and the application of fungicides. Fungicide application can lead to the selection of resistant B. cinerea populations, which has an adverse effect on the management of the disease. Characterizing the distribution and severity of resistant B. cinerea populations is needed to inform resistance management strategies.RESULTS: In this study, 724 isolates were sampled from 76 Australian vineyards during 2013-2016 and were screened against seven fungicides with different modes of action (MOAs). The resistance frequencies for azoxystrobin, boscalid, fenhexamid, fludioxonil, iprodione, pyrimethanil and tebuconazole were 5%, 2.8%, 2.1%, 6.2%, 11.6%, 7.7% and 2.9%, respectively. Nearly half of the resistant isolates (43.8%) were resistant to more than one of the fungicides tested. The frequency of vineyards with at least one isolate simultaneously resistant to one, two, three, four or five fungicides was 19.7%, 7.9%, 6.6%, 10.5% and 2.6%. Resistance was associated with previously published genotypes in CytB (G143A), SdhB (H272R/Y), Erg27 (F412S), Mrr1 (D354Y), Bos1 (I365S, N373S + Q369P, I365S + D757N) and Pos5 (V273I, P319A, L412F/V). Novel genotypes were also described in Mrr1 (S611N, D616G), Pos5 (V273L) and Cyp51 (P347S). Expression analysis was used to characterize fludioxonil-resistant isolates exhibiting overexpression (6.3-9.6-fold) of the ABC transporter gene AtrB (MDR1 phenotype).CONCLUSION: Resistance frequencies were lower when compared to most previously published surveys of B. cinerea resistance in grape and other crops. Nevertheless, continued monitoring of critical MOAs used in Australian vineyards is recommended.

Gray mold, caused by Botrytis cinerea, is an economically important disease of grapes in Australia and across grape growing regions worldwide. Control of this disease relies heavily on canopy management and the application of single site fungicides. Fungicide application can lead to the selection of fungicide resistant B. cinerea populations, which has an adverse effect on the chemical control of the disease. Characterising the distribution and severity of resistant B. cinerea populations is needed to inform resistance management strategies. In this study, 725 isolates were sampled from 75 Australian vineyards during 2013 – 2016 and were screened against seven fungicides with different MOAs. The resistance frequencies for azoxystrobin, boscalid, fenhexamid, fludioxonil, iprodione, pyrimethanil and tebuconazole were 5, 2.8, 2.1, 6.2, 11.6, 7.7 and 2.9% respectively. Nearly half of the resistant isolates (43.7%) were resistant to more than one of the fungicides tested. The frequency of vineyards with at least one isolate simultaneously resistant to 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5 fungicides was 19.5, 7.8, 6.5, 10.4 and 2.6%. Resistance was associated with previously published genotypes in CytB (G143A), SdhB (H272R/Y), Erg27 (F412S), Mrr1 (D354Y), Bos1 (I365S, N373S + Q369P, I365S + D757N) and Pos5 (P319A, L412F). Expression analysis was used to characterise fludioxonil resistant isolates exhibiting overexpression (6.3 - 9.6-fold) of the ABC transporter encoded by AtrB (MDR1 phenotype). Novel genotypes were also described in CytB (S611N, D616G) and CytB (P357S). Resistance frequencies were lower when compared to most previously published surveys of both grape and non-grape B. cinerea resistance. Nonetheless, continued monitoring of critical chemical groups used in Australian vineyards is recommended.