Fungi from symptomless strawberry plants in Switzerland

Abstract

Forty symptomless strawberry plants (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) belonging to different cultivars were examined for fungal flora. All the plants had originally been imported as frigo plantlets from the same nursery. Assays were performed on frigo plantlets from one batch and on plants grown under field conditions from another batch. Fungal isolations were taken from different parts of the plants (roots, crowns, petioles, leaves, flowers and fruits). Some 40 different fungal species were isolated in all, about 20 from in frigo plantlets and 30 from field-grown plants (with some overlap). About half the fungi isolated were common fungal strawberry pathogens in Switzerland. This paper outlines the problems inherent in the large-scale import of certified planting material containing potential pathogenic fungi that are not detected by routine phytosanitary inspection.