Gray mold, also known as Botrytis fruit rot or Botrytis flower rot, is one of the most difficult strawberry pathogens to control if the environmental conditions are right for infection.
Unfortunately, the fungus that causes this disease, Botrytis cinerea, is very common in strawberries throughout the world.
The disease can lurk in the plants without causing any symptoms, waiting to strike when the fruit are ripe. It can attack while the fruits are still on the plants, as well as after harvest.
We link to vendors to help you find relevant products. If you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission.
To make things worse, there are many different strains of Botrytis, and most of them are resistant to at least one fungicide, if not more.
However, there are options available for control. We’ll help you manage your strawberry plants, so you have a fighting chance of overcoming this pathogen.
Botrytis Rot on Strawberries Can Lurk UndetectedYou may have strawberry plants that look perfectly healthy but have undetectable dormant Botrytis infections. This is what’s known as a latent infection.
This is frequently the case with young growing leaves, which will look fine until they mature and start to decline. At that point, the fungus starts growing and symptoms appear.
And it can be the case with the fruit, too. They may be fine until they start to expand and develop.
Fully ripe fruit are highly susceptible, and can be infected during harvest if they come into contact with another that has the disease.
SymptomsThe symptoms of gray mold on strawberries can vary depending on the state of the tissue and what part of the plant is infected.
The portions of the leaves
Read more on gardenerspath.com