Black Rot of Grape (Vitis spp.)

Black rot of grape, (caused by the fungus Guignardia bidwellii) is a serious disease that has impacted grape production around the world. Black rot outbreaks are significantly influenced by environment, the growth status and genetic background of the grapevine. Understanding the influence of these factors could enhance existing management practices through the capability to predict black rot development. Temperature and moisture during the infection process, and relative humidity conditions after infection are the subject of investigations into the environmental influences of black rot development on shoot tissue. Cultivar background and conidiospore concentration also influence symptom severity and fungal development, and are explored. Additional features include photographs of symptoms, use of an inoculation technique that could be applied to work with other diseases, and studies conducted on the temperature and wetness influence on the latent period of shoot symptoms. This book would be useful to researchers and students working with black rot, searching for a review of past work and recent investigations related to grape black rot.