Biological and chemical control of ochratoxigenic fungi in vineyards

Aspergillus carbonarius is an important plant pathogen that affects the vine cultivation causing sour rot in grapes and producing ochratoxin A (OTA), a mycotoxin with carcinogenic properties. The control of the fungus is particularly difficult and requires multiple applications of systemic fungicides (i.e. cyprodinil /fludioxonil). The objective of the current study was to evaluate various biological and chemical formulations to control sour rot and OTA production. Experiments were carried out in two greek varieties of vine, Malagousia and Savvatiano, during the 2017 and 2018 years with the following formulations: 1) Grape yeasts from the collection of Laboratory of Plant Pathology of AUA isolated from vineyards, 2) Botector^®, a commercial biopesticide containing the yeast Aureobasidium pullulans, with a mode of action that affects the inhibition of the pathogen colonization for space or nutrients, 3) Trianum^®, a biopesticide based on the fungus Trichoderma harzianum which mainly acts by complex mechanisms of mycoparasitism, 4) Tusal^®, a biological formulation based on T. asperellum and T. atroviride, 5) Serenade Max^®, a biofungicide inducing the defence mechanisms of plants and promotes the plant growth, 6) Vacciplant^®, a commercial formulation containing laminarine, a substance that acts as an inducer of plant defence, 7) EM-Effective Microorganisms^® a mixture of various beneficial microorganisms, 8) Remedier^®, a biological fungicide based on T. asperellum and Trichoderma gamsii, 9) Mevalone^®, a formulation containing essential oils and 10) the chemical pesticides: Switch^®, Quadris^®, Geoxe^®, Chorus^®, Cantus^® and Scala^®. The results of the comparative study of the various formulations for the control of ochratoxigenic fungi in the vineyard will be presented.