Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry

The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea causes grey mould in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) inflicting great yield loss and significant economic loss. To date, spraying with chemical fungicides is the primary management practice to control this disease. Concerns regarding resistance development of th...

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Autor principal: Jützeler, Matilda
Formato: H2
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: SLU/Dept. of Plant Protection Biology 2021
Materias:
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author Jützeler, Matilda
author_browse Jützeler, Matilda
author_facet Jützeler, Matilda
author_sort Jützeler, Matilda
collection Epsilon Archive for Student Projects
description The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea causes grey mould in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) inflicting great yield loss and significant economic loss. To date, spraying with chemical fungicides is the primary management practice to control this disease. Concerns regarding resistance development of the pathogen, high treatment cost and environmental issues have led to the search for alternative methods. This study investigates if the biocontrol fungus Aureobasidium pullulans (isolate AP-SLU6) could be used as a biocontrol agent vectored by buff-tailed bumblebee, to suppress grey mould in strawberry under greenhouse conditions. To examine if A. pullulans affect bumblebees negatively, trials measuring the flight activity and the hive weight was performed. To test if the bees can carry and deposit the biocontrol agent to strawberry flowers, samples of flowers and bumblebees were collected and examined. Finally, the scoring of grey mould infection on fruits was performed pre-and postharvest. Bee activity and hive weight was not significantly affected by the carried fungal biocontrol agent. The results further showed that bumblebees successfully vectored the biocontrol agent to flowers and significantly reduced the severity of grey mould infected fruits during postharvest storage, thus leading to improved shelf life. This study concludes that A. pullulans used as a biocontrol agent vectored by bumblebees, can be an efficient method for controlling postharvest grey mould in strawberry, leading to improved plant health and reduced dependence on synthetic fungicides.
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institution Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences
language Inglés
publishDate 2021
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publisher SLU/Dept. of Plant Protection Biology
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spelling RepoSLU164642021-02-26T12:15:01Z Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry Utvärdering av Aureobasidium pullulans för biologisk bekämpning av gråmögel hos jordgubbar med humlor som vektorer Jützeler, Matilda Aureobasidium pullulans biocontrol Bombus terrestris Botrytis cinerea entomovectoring fungal disease strawberry The fungal pathogen Botrytis cinerea causes grey mould in strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa) inflicting great yield loss and significant economic loss. To date, spraying with chemical fungicides is the primary management practice to control this disease. Concerns regarding resistance development of the pathogen, high treatment cost and environmental issues have led to the search for alternative methods. This study investigates if the biocontrol fungus Aureobasidium pullulans (isolate AP-SLU6) could be used as a biocontrol agent vectored by buff-tailed bumblebee, to suppress grey mould in strawberry under greenhouse conditions. To examine if A. pullulans affect bumblebees negatively, trials measuring the flight activity and the hive weight was performed. To test if the bees can carry and deposit the biocontrol agent to strawberry flowers, samples of flowers and bumblebees were collected and examined. Finally, the scoring of grey mould infection on fruits was performed pre-and postharvest. Bee activity and hive weight was not significantly affected by the carried fungal biocontrol agent. The results further showed that bumblebees successfully vectored the biocontrol agent to flowers and significantly reduced the severity of grey mould infected fruits during postharvest storage, thus leading to improved shelf life. This study concludes that A. pullulans used as a biocontrol agent vectored by bumblebees, can be an efficient method for controlling postharvest grey mould in strawberry, leading to improved plant health and reduced dependence on synthetic fungicides. SLU/Dept. of Plant Protection Biology 2021 H2 eng https://stud.epsilon.slu.se/16464/
spellingShingle Aureobasidium pullulans
biocontrol
Bombus terrestris
Botrytis cinerea
entomovectoring
fungal disease
strawberry
Jützeler, Matilda
Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry
title Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry
title_full Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry
title_fullStr Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry
title_full_unstemmed Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry
title_short Evaluation of bee-vectored Aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry
title_sort evaluation of bee-vectored aureobasidium pullulans for biocontrol of grey mould in strawberry
topic Aureobasidium pullulans
biocontrol
Bombus terrestris
Botrytis cinerea
entomovectoring
fungal disease
strawberry