TY - JOUR AU - BURGGRAF, Andrea AU - RIENTH, Markus PY - 2020/09/01 Y2 - 2024/03/28 TI - Origanum vulgare essential oil vapour impedes Botrytis cinerea development on grapevine (Vitis vinifera) fruit JF - Phytopathologia Mediterranea JA - Phytopathol. Mediterr. VL - 59 IS - 2 SE - Research Papers DO - 10.14601/Phyto-11605 UR - https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/pm/article/view/11605 SP - 331-344 AB - <p class="p1"><em>Botrytis cinerea&nbsp;</em>infections of <em>Vitis</em> spp. fruits cause major economic losses, and grape producers rely on synthetic and copper-based fungicides for control of this pathogen. These pesticides present risks for human health and the environment. Implementation of low-impact disease management solutions is important for improving sustainability of viticulture industries. This study investigated the effects of <em>Origanum vulgare</em> (oregano) essential oil (EO) as an antifungal agent. <em>In vitro</em> and <em>in vivo</em> experiments with <em>B. cinerea</em>&nbsp;were carried out using a vaporization system to circumvent drawbacks of direct EO application. <em>In vitro</em> experiments confirmed the effectiveness of EO vapour treatments, which gave 100% inhibition of <em>B. cinerea </em>growth. Treatment of <em>V. vinifera</em> cv. Chasselas berries&nbsp;resulted in a 73% reduction in fungal growth, confirming the efficacy of the oregano EO vapour for control of grey mould caused by <em>B. cinerea</em>. This study has demonstrated the efficacy of EOs in the vapour phase on grape berries, which provides new possibilities for development of in-field or greenhouse vaporization systems that can reduce the use of synthetic and copper-based fungicides.</p> ER -