VIEW ARTICLE

Vector Relations

Association of Botrytis cinerea with Grape Berry Moth Larvae. M. Fermaud, INRA Centre de Recherches de Bordeaux, Unité de Recherches Intégrées d’Aquitaine, SR1V, 33140 Pont-de-la-Maye; R. Le Menn, Université de Bordeaux 1, Département de Microscopie Electronique, 33405 Talence, France. Phytopathology 79:651-656. Accepted for publication 20 December 1988. Copyright 1989 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-79-651.

The potential role of the larvae of Lobesia botrana, the grape berry moth, as a dispersal agent for Botrytis cinerea has been studied with scanning electron microscopy. Numerous conidia were trapped, mainly in the ornamentations of segments cuticle. Dispersal of the pathogen via the larval feces was also demonstrated to be possible. Ingested pieces of conidiophores and conidia observed in the digestive tract remained typically shaped. The germination ability of conidia extracted from the gut was not modified, and B. cinerea remained viable inside feces. In vineyards near Bordeaux, B. cinerea was isolated from 95 and 35% of the second generation larvae in 1987 and 1988, respectively. The factors that may be involved in the infection process are discussed.