What Does Botrytis Mean?
Botrytis is a fungal disease that commonly affects plants exposed to cool, damp climates. This disease characterizes itself as grayish and mushy spots on produce, flowers, stems, and leaves. If the humidity is particularly high, the plant can be covered by fungal spores. Some produce, such as fruits, tend to shrivel up when affected.
There are more than 30 species of Botrytis, the most common being Botrytis cinerea. Other types include Botrytis allii and Botrytis squamosa which affect onions and Botrytis elliptica which affects the lily family.
Botrytis may also be known as gray mold, fruit rot, or bud rot.
Maximum Yield Explains Botrytis
Botrytis tends to affect ornamental plants such as petunias, periwinkle, marigold, hawthorn, geranium, fuchsia, and anemone. It also affects cannabis and vegetable crops such as tomatoes, strawberries, peppers, onions, grapes, beans, and carrots, among others.
If Botrytis affects wilted flowers, it can also spread to the neighboring plants and flowers. In fact, this fungus has been known to spread to harvested vegetables and fruits during storage if they are kept in areas with high humidity.
To prevent this disease from spreading, it is important to stake or prune the plants, hence improving air circulation and oxygenation. However, growers should remember to carefully disinfect their pruning equipment after each procedure, since the fungus can stick to the blades.
As a precautionary measure, it is also important to keep the diseased plant away from other plants because Botrytis can spread very quickly. Organic compost can also keep Botrytis at bay.
