Evaluation of the Rhodotorula glutinis in Controlling the Gray Rot Disease Caused by the Pathogenic Fungus Botrytis cinerea Pre and Post Strawberry Harvesting

Abstract

Abstract The effectiveness of the yeast Rhodotorula glutinis was evaluated in the field experiment for control of the gray rot disease on strawberry caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea. The results showed that all treatments of R. glutinis yeast led to a significant superiority in inducing systemic strawberry resistance and an increase in vegetative, productivity and quality indicators of three strawberry cultivars, compared to the Prado fungicide treatment and the pathogenic fungus treatment only. Treatment of filtrate and yeast cells (R. glutinis - Cs +F with B. cinerea) achieved the highest activity of the enzymes that induce plant resistance, which included peroxidase, chitinase and β-glucanase, the enzymatic activity was 2.25, 2.31 and 1.62 units/ml for Albion cultivar, with significant superiority compared to other treatments. The treatment of (R. glutinis - Cs +F) in the presence of the pathogenic fungus recorded the highest vegetative parameters, which included plant height and shoot weight in Albion cultivar, reaching 27.33 cm and 14.66 g, respectively. All treatments of R. glutinis yeast led to a significant superiority in affecting the severity of infection for all studied strawberry cultivars under the infection conditions with the pathogenic fungus B. cinerea, the Albion cultivar achieved the highest decrease in the infection severity reached 17.37% in (R. glutinis - Cs +F with B. cinerea ), while it had the least effect on the severity of infection in the Festival cultivar, reached 95.28% in the treatment of the pathogenic fungus. The yield of strawberry fruits in Albion cultivar was superior compared to other cultivars, as the plant yield reached 68.92 g/plant in the treatment of (R. glutinis-Cs +F with B. cinerea), while the lowest yield was 16.69 g/plant in the Festival cultivar with the pathogenic fungus treatment only. The treatment of yeast filtrate and cells with B. cinerea achieved the lowest infection intensity, the highest hardness and the highest vitamin C content of strawberry fruits after 7 days of harvest, compared to the Prado fungicide treatment and the pathogenic fungus treatment only.