Botrytis cinerea, Mucor piriformis and Rhizopus spp. are mainly responsible for post-harvest fruit rot in strawberry in the UK. However, research to date has been focused on the epidemiology and management of B. cinerea in strawberry (i.e., grey mould). A number of experiments were carried out to study the epidemiology of M. piriformis and Rhizopus on strawberry, including flower/fruit susceptibility, inoculum dose, in vitro spore germination and infection of both detached and attached fruit. The results showed that M. piriformis and Rhizopus had very similar epidemiological characteristics. Both pathogens were unable to infect flowers, but fruit became increasingly susceptible from the green development stage onwards. In vitro germination required near-saturation humidity conditions and was reduced in both low and high temperatures. However, infection of attached ripe fruit and subsequent rot development were relatively unaffected by temperature and relative humidity conditions that commonly occur under field conditions in the UK. On detached ripe fruit, a high spore infection potency was observed for both pathogens. Infection of fruit was completed within 9 to 24 h. Thus, the most important factor determining the level of infection of fruit by M. piriformis and Rhizopus in UK commercial crops is probably the number of spores deposited on the fruit. Management strategies should be targeted at reducing inoculum concentrations within crops in order to minimise the risk of fruit infection by M. piriformis and Rhizopus.

灰葡萄孢，梨形毛霉和根霉属。主要负责英国草莓收获后的水果腐烂。然而，迄今为止，研究集中在草莓（即灰色霉菌）中灰葡萄孢的流行病学和处理。进行了许多实验来研究草莓梨状支原体和根霉的流行病学，包括花/果实敏感性，接种量，离体和附着果实的体外孢子萌发和感染。结果表明，梨形支原体和根瘤菌具有非常相似的流行病学特征。两种病原体都无法感染花，但是从绿色发育阶段开始，水果变得越来越易感染。体外发芽需要接近饱和的湿度条件，并且在低温和高温下均降低。但是，附着的成熟果实的感染和随后的腐烂发展相对不受英国田间条件下通常发生的温度和相对湿度条件的影响。在分离的成熟果实上，两种病原体均具有较高的孢子感染力。水果感染在9至24小时内完成。因此，决定梨形支原体和根瘤菌感染水果水平的最重要因素在英国的商业作物中，大概是果实上沉积的孢子数量。管理策略应针对减少作物中的接种物浓度，以最大程度地减少梨形支原体和根霉感染水果的风险。