{"id":3524,"date":"2023-11-20T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-20T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmingfuturefood.com\/feb2025\/?p=3524"},"modified":"2023-12-03T11:18:45","modified_gmt":"2023-12-03T11:18:45","slug":"mould-fighting-biological-controls-could-increase-strawberry-production-and-longevity","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmingfuturefood.com\/feb2025\/mould-fighting-biological-controls-could-increase-strawberry-production-and-longevity\/","title":{"rendered":"Mould-fighting biological controls can increase strawberry production and longevity"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A yeast-like fungus and sugar beet extract could tackle grey mould in strawberry production, reducing the industry\u2019s reliance on synthetic fungicides.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In research led by Mudassir Iqbal at Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, two concentrations of the beneficial fungus Aureobasidium pullulans<\/em> and the extract were tested as a spray application over two years in open fields.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A. pullulans<\/em> had previously shown great potential in controlling grey mould, which is caused by Botrytis cinerea<\/em>, in greenhouse environments, and so it also proved outdoors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Iqbal observed that all three biological control<\/a> treatments reduced grey mould prevalence and increased the fruits\u2019 shelf-life post-harvest. However, the highest concentration of A. pullulans<\/em> (107<\/sup> colony forming units per millilitre) produced the best effect and resulted in a 53% higher fruit production compared to a control treatment where the plants were sprayed with tap water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beet a budget option?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous studies had shown that A. pullulans <\/em>can controlrotting in several different fruits, such as kiwi, cherries and tomato, while scientists had reported sugar beet extract proving useful in controlling late potato blight, caused by the fungus-like microorganism Phytophthora infestans<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the underlying reasons for sugar beet extract\u2019s action against grey mould remain unknown, it\u2019s low price and high production capacity could make it appealing to growers, explained Iqbal<\/a> in Journal of Plant Pathology<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Longer post-harvest life a priority<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe improved shelf-life found in this study is important because food loss due to postharvest grey mould development in sales boxes is a very big economic and ecological problem, and even minor improvements in shelf-life can reduce food loss and increase revenue considerably,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On top of the longevity advantages, the increase in fruit production seen when using the highest concentration of A. pullulans <\/em>suggests that it could also act as a growth promoter for strawberries, he noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe development of A. pullulans<\/em> as a reliable and efficient biological control agent could be an important step to catalyse a shift from chemical fungicides to sustainable biocontrol for strawberry,\u201d added Iqbal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGiven the current heavy dependence on fungicides, such a development would be an important contribution to reach the European Commission\u2019s Green Deal goals for 2030.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A yeast-like fungus and sugar beet extract could tackle grey mould in strawberry production, reducing the industry\u2019s reliance on synthetic fungicides.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":3525,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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