Semi-automated on-site quantification of airborne pathogen inoculum to predict the strawberry fruit rot risks

减少真菌果实腐烂是英国草莓生产中的优先事项；每年因真菌腐烂造成的经济损失通常在30至6000万GB之间。腐烂病主要由灰霉病菌、毛霉引起。和根霉属(Rhizopus spp.)，其相对流行率随时间和生长地点的变化而变化。英国的大多数草莓生产都受到保护，真菌腐烂的风险在很大程度上取决于病原体的接种强度和敏感组织的可用性。准确的风险预测，从而有效地控制水果腐烂，由于难以准确和快速地量化接种量而受到阻碍。该项目将开发一种半自动量化多种空气传播草莓病原体的设备，并建立收获前和收获后腐烂风险与量化接种量的关系。这将延长个别草莓地段的适销期，并减少因真菌腐烂而造成的水果浪费。

Reducing fungal fruit rot is a priority in strawberry production in the UK; annual economic losses due to fungal rotting are usually between £30 to £60M. Rot is mainly caused by Botrytis cinerea, Mucor spp. and Rhizopus spp., with their relative prevalence varying over time and growing site. Most strawberry production in the UK is under protection where the risk of fungal rot largely depends on the pathogen inoculum strength, and availability of susceptible tissues. Accurate risk prediction, and hence effective control of fruit rotting, is hampered by the difficulties in accurate and fast quantification of inoculum strength. This project will develop a device for semi-automatic quantification of multiple airborne strawberry pathogens and establish the relationship of both pre- and post-harvest rot risks with the quantified inoculum level. This will extend the marketable shelf life of individual strawberry lots and reduce fruit waste due to fungal rotting.