MOLECULAR CHARACTERIZATION OF THE PATHOGEN CAUSING GREY MOLD IN STRAWBERRY AND ITS MANAGEMENT

Strawberry is an important fruit crop, it has been attacked by a number of pathogens. Grey mold for strawberry is commonly caused by Botrytis cinerea, which is an important fungal pathogen causing diseases in many crops. Strawberry samples affected by grey mold showing typical symptoms like browning of the fruit part, ripening berries and rotted fruit with grey mold growth were collected from different strawberry growing areas of Punjab and The National Agriculture Research Center (NARC). The associated pathogens were isolated, purified and their morphological features were observed. Pathogenicity test was conducted on fruits and were re-isolated from inoculated portions. The fungal DNA was isolated from diseased samples by using CTAB protocol. To identify the pathogens on the molecular basis PCR products were attained and amplified through universal primers. The sequence of associated pathogens were analyzed by constructing phylogenetic tree and the identified pathogens were organized into specific clades including other similar species. Different groups of fungicides, antagonistic microorganisms and plant extracts were also evaluated in-vitro against isolated fungal pathogens through poisoned food technique. Among fungicides, antagonists and plant extracts dicarboximide & benzimidazole, Trichoderma spp., Allium sativum and Mentha spicata can showed promising results against mycelial growth of B. cinerea.