STRAWBERRY DISEASES 427 
Borrytis-Rot 
Caused by Botrytis sp. 
This disease is especially common and destructive in rainy 
seasons. It appears to have an extensive range over the 
country, occurring as far south as Louisiana and throughout 
the northern strawberry-growing sections. It was especially 
destructive over its entire range during the seasons of 1914, 
1915 and 1916. It is reported as having caused a loss of 
woillions of dollars in the States of Mississippi and Louisiana 
alone in 1914. Much of this loss resulted from the develop- 
ment of the disease during shipment, though it was prevalent 
and destructive in the field. 
Symptoms. 
All the above-ground parts are subject to the disease, but 
the fruit and fruit-pedicels usually suffer most. Small green 
fruits as well as mature and ripening berries may be affected. 
The lesions usually appear first on the fruit as small, brown, 
rotten spots. These rapidly involve the entire berry, from 
which the fruit-pedicels become affected. Leaves and leaf- 
- petioles may show lesions, especially where they touch rotten 
fruits. The injury is a dry, brown rot. The fruit shrivels 
slightly, but retains its form. No exuding of juice is evident. 
The diseased tissue turns brown, but remains firm. The berry 
is finally coated with a dense growth of the spore stalks of the 
pathogene, giving it a grayish brown, moldy appearance. 
Cause. 
The fungus responsible for this disease is a species of Botrytis, 
possibly Botrytis cinerea. Another fungus Rhizopus nigricans( ?) 
is also known to cause a rot of strawberry fruits which differs 
strikingly from the Botrytis-rot in that there is a rapid loss of 
juice from the fruit, giving it the nameof “leak.” Thisisaccom- 
‘panied by a collapse or flattening of the fruit. The Rhizopus 
rot appears more commonly on berries in transportation. 
