HomeStrawberriesStrawberries: Fruit exhibit brown, water-soaked spots and a grayish mold, especially near the calyx end (Gray Mold)

Strawberries: Fruit exhibit brown, water-soaked spots and a grayish mold, especially near the calyx end (Gray Mold)

Botrytis cinerea

Botrytis cinerea is the most common fungus affecting strawberry fruit. Botrytis fruit rot (Gray mold) occurs when weather is wet during flowering. Gray mold usually begins at the blossom end or where a berry is touching another infected berry. The infected portion is firm and brown while the berry is still green…

Unripe strawberry fruit, each marked with a circular brown spot of decay.

but expands as the fruit ripens.

Ripe strawberry with rotted region. Rot is brown and wet-looking at borders, and center is gray and powdery in appearance.

Powdery gray spores are produced as the fruit ripens, infecting other fruit…

Cluster of ripening strawberry fruit. All fruit appear healthy except for one. The infected strawberry is no longer visible as gray, fuzzy, powdery mold covers entire fruit, calyx, and part of the stem.

Cluster of ripe strawberries with two infected fruit. One fruit is totally obscured by mold. The other infected fruit has a wet and laminated appearance. Edges of fruit are densely moldy while center appears to be covered by thin layer of mold.

and plant debris.

Three ripening strawberries in field beside a heavily molded berry. Moldy berry is no longer attached to plant and has white appearance.

Strawberry plant leaves with one infected stem present. Stem is brown but has white border from mold.