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Bitter
rot - Greeneria uvicola
Annemiek
Schilder, MSU Plant Pathology |
| Home > Scouting guide> bitter rot |
| Bitter rot is common
in southeastern growing regions. It gives the berries a bitter taste that
is detectable in wine. After flowering, the fungus infects the berry stem
and remains latent until the berry is mature. Then the fungus rapidly
invades the berry and sporulates in concentric circles, darkening and
roughening the surface. Within a couple of days, the berries soften and
easily detach. Berries that do not fall off shrivel up, similar to black
rot-infected berries. The optimum temperature for infection is 82º
to 86ºF (28º to 30ºC), but infection can occur at temperatures
as low as 54ºF (12ºC). Fruit injury by insects, birds or cracking
can cause bitter rot to spread rapidly throughout the cluster. The fungus
invades wounds and overwinters in plant debris and bark of one-year-old
canes. |
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| Fruiting bodies. |
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