The development of new methods for monitoring biocontrol agent, Gliocladium catenulatum J1446, to control gray mold on strawberries

Summary

Gray mold, caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea, is one of the most common and serious diseases affecting strawberries. Different fungicides are used to manage this disease but can quickly lose their effectiveness and their ability to suppress the disease. Therefore,
much attention is devoted to biological methods of control in recent years. Preparation PrestopMIX (Verdera Oy, Finland) is available in some European countries. It contains a biocontrol agent (BCA), isolate J1446 of the fungus Gliocladium catenulatum, active against grey mold. In the project Bicopoll, a project of European transnational research cooperation project CORE Organic II, we are checking for residues of BSA in bee products (honey, pollen) and following BCA distribution to strawberry flowers by bees. For this purpose, we developed a new, BCA specific real time PCR, which allows us to detect BCA in different samples and quantify it. Development of a new method and its application
will be presented.