Common crops affected
What is it?
Botrytis is a fungus that attacks soft, aging, wounded, or senescing tissue and spreads from there into healthy plant parts. It produces masses of gray, dusty spores and thrives in cool, humid, poorly ventilated conditions — making greenhouses, dense canopies, and storage especially vulnerable.
How to identify it
- Fuzzy gray-brown mold on fruit, flowers, leaves, or stems
- Soft, watery rot that spreads quickly, especially on ripe fruit
- Clouds of dust (spores) when infected tissue is disturbed
- Worse in cool, damp, humid, crowded conditions and in storage
Damage and how it spreads
Gray mold causes major losses in soft fruit (strawberries, grapes, brambles), flowers, and greenhouse vegetables, and is a leading cause of post-harvest rot. Because it spreads from dying or damaged tissue and produces enormous numbers of spores, a single infected fruit can spread rot through a whole batch. Sanitation and early protection are essential.
How to control it
- Remove and destroy infected and dead tissue and fallen debris promptly.
- Improve airflow and reduce humidity; avoid overhead watering and dense canopies.
- Handle fruit gently to avoid wounds, and cool produce quickly after harvest.
- Apply a protective natural fungicide during cool, damp, high-risk periods.
Recommended Vegalab solution: Spore Control
Vegalab Spore Control targets gray mold (Botrytis cinerea) as part of its broad spectrum. Its Thymol active forms a protective film and inhibits spore germination and mycelium proliferation, reducing inoculum before infection establishes. Apply as a foliar spray at first sign of disease, diluted 1:1,000 (1 mL/L), with attention to flowers, ripening fruit, and dense canopy areas during cool, damp weather.
| Role | Product | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Primary control | Spore Control | Broad-spectrum protective fungicide |
| Companion / broader pressure | Rigid Boost | Pre-harvest cell-wall support |
| Plant support | Armour Boost | Silica for tissue resilience |
Preventing it next season
Keep the crop clean and open, manage humidity, handle fruit carefully, and protect preventively during damp spells. Strong cell walls resist invasion — Rigid Boost and Armour Boost support firmer, more resilient tissue.
Claims and product availability vary by jurisdiction. Always read and follow the product label.