SWEET PEPPER: ASPECTS OF THE BIOLOGY AND CONTROL OF FUSARIUM FRUIT ROT

Internal fruit rot of sweet pepper grown in glasshouses has been an increasing problem worldwide since around 2000. In the UK, surveys in 2007 showed infected fruits were present in many crops at levels from 1 to 37%. The disease causes some losses on production nurseries but more importantly also causes rejection by packers and complaints by supermarkets. Losses vary greatly between crops and seasons, and growers are generally unaware a problem may be present until harvest or postharvest. The fruit rot arises through infection of flowers (Yang et al., 2010). Several Fusarium species have been associated with the disease in the UK, notably F. lactis and F. oxysporum. Observations in commercial crops indicate the disease is favoured by high humidity. At present there is no effective method of control. This experimental work aimed to reduce losses to Fusarium internal fruit rot through increased knowledge of factors associated with a high incidence of the disease and use of biofungicides and fungicides to control flower infection.