Microfungi of crowns and roots of apparently healthy dormant strawberry plants

Abstract

The crowns and roots of 100 cold-stored, apparently healthy strawberry plants of each of the varieties Acadia, Catskill, Cavalier, Gorella, Guardsman, Midway, Redcoat, Sparkle, and Surecrop were examined for their fungal content. Crowns contained representatives of 43 genera; roots contained 38, of which 36 were in both crowns and roots. Strawberry foliar and fruit pathogens were present in a relatively small number of the crowns and roots. In general, Chaetomium spp. and Fusarium spp. were the most prevalent. Chaetomium cochliodes was more prevalent in Cavalier and Redcoat, the varieties most susceptible to root rot in the field, than in the other varieties. The crowns and roots of apparently healthy, dormant strawberry plants contained a fungal flora similar to that associated with the black root rot complex.One fungus, Varicosporium elodeae, isolated from strawberry plants has not previously been reported in Canada.

Alternaria alternata as endophyte and pathogen

“…Aside from tobacco, endophytic A. alternata has been reported from a variety of crop plants, including strawberry, apple, rapeseed, soybean, rice and citrus [48,[103][104][105][106][107][108][109]. Notably, Alternaria spp.…”