Gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea limits grape production in Chile

Abstract

by Botrytis cinerea is a major disease of grapes (Vitis vinifera) that substantially reduces the yield and quality of grape production in temperate and humid regions of the world. B. cinerea is a necrotrophic fungus that attacks the non-lignified aerial organs of grapes; in particular, berries are highly susceptible during ripening. The polycyclic nature and exponential progress exhibited by GM at the beginning of the its epidemic, as well as the abundant inoculum production, the high dissemination efficiency, the wide host range and the high genetic variability of B. cinerea, explain the difficulties encountered in attempting to control GM. At present, integrated disease management, including cultural and chemical control, is the main control strategy. These control measures can be used to reduce the initial inoculum or to lower the disease infection rate. However, control measures that reduce the infection rate are the most effective means of controlling GM. Important progress toward understanding the complexity of the biology and epidemiology of this pathogen has occurred in recent decades. This has allowed the improvement and development of more effective and sustainable control strategies against B. cinerea. This review article provides a recent update regarding grape GM, with special emphasis on Chilean production conditions.

Classification of winegrape cultivars in Chile and France according to their susceptibility toBotrytis cinerearelated to fruit maturity

“…This relationship between susceptibility and berry colour was expected because it has been shown that the susceptibility of grapes may be affected by the concentration of phenolic substances in grapes (Frankel et al 1995, Goldberg et al 1995, and particularly, the tannin concentration within the berry skin (Deytieux-Belleau et al 2009). Last, and in addition to fruit maturity, berry skin colour and bunch compactness, which also may affect the susceptibility to BBR, there are other predisposal factors, such as genetic (morphological, anatomical and chemical features of the berry skin), physical (wounds), environmental (climate and weather conditions) and agronomic (cultural practices) (Latorre et al 2015). In addition, the compactness of bunches has been shown to be an important morphological feature that affects the susceptibility to B. cinerea by affecting the microclimate and the thickness and wax content of the berry cuticle (Marois et al 1986, Vail and Marois 1991, Percival et al 1994, Fermaud et al 2001.…”

“…This corroborates a previous study that showed a positive correlation between BBR development and bunch compactness (Hed et al 2009). Last, and in addition to fruit maturity, berry skin colour and bunch compactness, which also may affect the susceptibility to BBR, there are other predisposal factors, such as genetic (morphological, anatomical and chemical features of the berry skin), physical (wounds), environmental (climate and weather conditions) and agronomic (cultural practices) (Latorre et al 2015). For agronomic factors, after the climate influence, vegetative growth and canopy development are considered the second most important factors favouring B. cinerea development (Valdés-Gómez et al 2008).…”

“…Climatic and microclimatic conditions, specifically temperature and humidity, are key factors for B. cinerea infection, notably in grapevine (Savage and Sall 1984, Thomas et al 1988, English et al 1989, Nair and Allen 1993, Broome et al 1995, Fermaud et al 2001, Valdés-Gómez et al 2008, Ciliberti et al 2016. Regarding the host, the disease development depends on various genetic and phenotypic traits, such as bunch compactness and morphological, anatomical, and chemical features of the berry skin (Latorre et al 2015), which are highly dependent on the grapevine cultivar. Population genetic structure of the pathogen is also a key factor in the epidemiology of grey mould (Giraud et al 1997, Martinez et al 2003, Beever and Weeds 2004, Walker 2016.…”

“…The cropping conditions include agronomic factors, such as the canopy and/or foliar density, water and mineral nutrition, grape training systems and winter pruning, which also predispose grapevine berries to B. cinerea infection (Latorre et al 2015). Several studies have investigated the relationship between B. cinerea development and these factors (Barbetti 1980, Savage and Sall 1984, Marois et al 1986, Gubler et al 1987, English et al 1989, Vail and Marois 1991, Zoecklein et al 1992, Percival et al 1994, Ferree et al 2003, Mundy and Beresford 2007, Valdés-Gómez et al 2008, Hed et al 2009, Molitor et al 2011, Pereira de Bem et al 2015, but most often by taking into account and investigating only one model cultivar.…”

Colonization ability as an indicator of enhanced biocontrol capacity—An example using two Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strains and Botrytis cinerea infection of tomatoes

“…The control of tomato grey mould disease is commonly based on the application of synthetic fungicides. However, this approach is considered ineffective, due to the high capability of B. cinerea to develop fungicide resistance (Latorre, Elfar, & Ferrada, 2015;Rupp, Weber, Rieger, Detzel, & Hahn, 2017). In addition, the high application frequency in agricultural pest management programmes negatively impacts human health, food and the environment (Eyhorn, Roner, & Specking, 2015).…”