Main symptoms on berries
The Penicillium spp. can mount several aspects on grape berries:
- A blue-green rot
Penicillium expansum Mostly , and a few other species of Penicillium spp. are responsible for a soft, wet rot on grape berries, the color of which is slightly dark blue on black grape varieties (figure 1), and beige to reddish on white grape varieties (figures 2 and 3). It should be noted that the rotten tissues gradually become covered with spore-bearing pads, the color of which fluctuates over time (figures 4 and 5). First whitish, they turn blue ( blue rot , blue mold) or even gradually green and darken.
- Presence of various molds on and in the heart of the bunches
The fruiting bodies of many Penicillium spp. develop on (Figure 7) or near (Figure 8) and / or in the heart of botrytis clusters (Figures 9 to 11), this following their secondary development. Thus, we can observe white to colored colonies that spread over gray mold.
Note that the development in the heart of the clusters of a Trichoderma sp. is sometimes found. Its fruiting bodies causing blue-green mold (Figure 12) should not be confused with those of Penicillium spp .