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Grey mould disease of strawberry in northern Germany: causal agents, fungicide resistance and management strategies

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Abstract

Grey mould, the most important disease of strawberry worldwide, is caused by Botrytis cinerea and a few additional Botrytis spp. Fungicide resistance is a growing problem and has become a limiting factor in strawberry production. In northern Germany, an annual survey of Botrytis isolates from commercial strawberry fields in 2010 to 2017 has revealed high (> 20%) frequencies of resistance to quinone-outside inhibitors, fenhexamid, boscalid, fludioxonil and cyprodinil, as well as lower (< 10%) shares of resistance to the recently released fluopyram. Iprodione and benzimidazoles have not been used in northern Germany for several years or decades, respectively, yet resistance to them was still detected. These observations are largely representative of the situation in many other strawberry-producing regions worldwide. The spread of strains with multiple resistance to several or even all currently used single-site fungicides is of particular concern and is probably promoted by their excessive use. Contaminated nursery material is a newly detected potential vehicle for the spread of strains with (multiple) fungicide resistance. Several complementary non-chemical measures are available to secure strawberry production in the face of weakening fungicide efficacies, and these are briefly discussed.

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Funding

Many of our results and conclusions reported here were generated in the course of an innovation support programme (FKZ 2814705711) funded by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture.

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  1. Esteburg Fruit Research and Advisory Centre, Moorende 53, 21635, Jork, Germany

    Roland W. S. Weber

  2. Department of Food Science, Aarhus University, Kirstinebjergvej 10, 5792, Årslev, Denmark

    Roland W. S. Weber

  3. Department of Biology, University of Kaiserslautern, Paul-Ehrlich-Str. 22, 67663, Kaiserslautern, Germany

    Matthias Hahn

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Correspondence to Roland W. S. Weber.

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Weber, R.W.S., Hahn, M. Grey mould disease of strawberry in northern Germany: causal agents, fungicide resistance and management strategies. Appl Microbiol Biotechnol 103, 1589–1597 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00253-018-09590-1

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