Adhesion and removal of conidia of Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum from grape and plum fruit surfaces

Adhesion and removal of dry and wet conidia of Botrytis cinerea and Penicillium expansum on dry and wet surfaces of grape and plum fruit were investigated. Conidia of B. cinerea adhered more strongly when applied in a water suspension or to the wet surface of grape fruit than when dry conidia were applied to a dry surface. Inoculation method did not consistently affect recovery of conidia of P. expansum from grape or plum fruit surfaces. None of the four removal methods (shake, sonicate, swab, and spatula) were consistently more effective over the range of inoculation methods and fruit surfaces used in this study.