Molecular detection of cranberry fruit rot fungi and fungicide resistance management

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The worldwide cranberry economy is carried out by 14 countries. Approximately 30% of the global production comes from Canada alone where Québec and British Columbia represent 95% of the production. The most prejudicial disease to this production is cranberry fruit rot (CFR) caused by a complex of 12 fungal species. This disease complex can cause as much as 100% loss of production, leading to severe economic losses. Applications of fungicides are mainly used for disease control. Owing to the negative effects of these methods on biodiversity and public and environmental health, more economic and environmentally-friendly approaches are required to control the impact of CFR. This project will provide the first precise, up-to-date and large-scale description of the composition, distribution, evolution and extent of fungal species causing CFR in cranberry production in all major growing areas in Canada as it also relates to bordering states in the USA. The results will give predictive trends of CFR dynamic owing to climate change based on development disease patterns occurring in cranberry fields. An approach of this magnitude was inconceivable as recently as a few months ago until the development of an innovative molecular test by our team to simultaneously identify all 12 fungi causing CFR. This breakthrough offers partners an unprecedented window into one of the most limiting factors of cranberry production along with tools to develop targeted management strategies to implement integrated control approaches.