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Abstract
Excerpts from the report: Gray mold rot, caused by Botrytis cinerea Pers. ex Fr., occurs each year during the marketing of bell peppers. Such decay occurs as numerous lesions on the pods. Although peppers are readily infected through wounds such as broken stems and skin breaks, these lesions usually develop without the aid of visible skin breaks. The purpose of this study was to determine the factor or factors that predispose peppers to infection and decay. This was accomplished through studies on the effect of temperature on growth rate of Botrytis on nutrient agar, on the rate of decay when the fungus was inoculated into bell peppers through a wound, on percentage of pods that developed natural infection, and on infection from inoculation of nonwounded peppers.