Plant Pathology (1996) 45, 276-284

M.A. Eden, R.A. Hill and A. Stewart (1996)
Biological control of Botrytis stem infection of greenhouse tomatoes
Plant Pathology 45 (2), 276-284
Abstract: Botrytis cinerea infects stem wounds of greenhouse tomatoes and can cause serious economic losses. A bioassay using stem sections was developed to study wound infection and to screen potential fungal antagonists for activity against Botrytis. Cladosporium cladosporioides reduced infection from 80-100% to 0-10%. A much smaller proportion of Trichoderma harzianum gave this reduction. Similar results were obtained on whole plants. Penicillium isolates varied widely in activity. The concentration of Cladosporium and Trichoderma which gave the highest level of protection was c. 10⁸ cfu/mL. When only half the wound was treated, simulating poor spray coverage, Cladosporium isolates still prevented infection. By contrast, Trichoderma isolates and four fungicides failed to give the same level of protection. The ability of certain fungal isolates to colonize the wound surface was thought to be partly responsible for this activity. The successful application of antagonists to whole plants using both aqueous suspensions and gel secateurs is described.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Alison Stewart

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
general biology - morphology - evolution
evaluation - screening - selection

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Botrytis cinerea	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	New Zealand
Trichoderma harzianum (antagonist)	Botrytis cinerea	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	New Zealand
Cladosporium cladosporioides (antagonist)	Botrytis cinerea	Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum)	New Zealand