USE OF PCR TECHONLOGY IN DIAGNOSIS OF Botrytis cinerea CAUSES SPOILAGE OF STRAWBERRY FRUITS AVAILABLE IN THE LOCAL MARKETS

Abstract

This study aimed to collect 20 samples of strawberry fruits imported from Turkey and Egypt, with ten samples for each of them, which are distributed in the local markets of the city of Baghdad, during the period from October 2022 to November of the same year. The results of conventional tests showed that the samples contained Botrytis spp. With a number of fifteen, and to confirm the return of these isolates to the fungus Botrytis cinerea specifically, the PCR technique was used as this technique showed obtaining 8 isolates out of 15, most of which belong to strawberry samples of Egyptian origin, in one package with a molecular weight of 700 bp when migrated on the agarose gel. This means that molecular diagnosis is superior to traditional methods, despite its importance as primary diagnostic methods.