Levels of Airborne Botrytis cinerea Conidia Trapped Among Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) and Eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) Crops Cultivated in Polyethylene Greenhouses on the Málaga Coastal Plain (Southern-Spain)

The levels of B. cinerea conidia in the air of greenhouses with pepper or eggplant crops at El Morche (Málaga, Spain) were studied during the 1981–82 and 1982–83 growing seasons. The number of conidia collected, the temperatures and relative humidities recorded during different periods were analyzed and fitted to different regression models. Several types of transformation were made to straighten the curves. In both seasons, the regression analyses of the pepper crop data showed no statistical significance, but those for eggplant crops did. The levels of significance for the eggplants were good and those of the 1981–82 experiment were the best. During the 24 h period prior the conidia collection, there was a negative correlation between temperatures measured 6 and 8 h prior to conidia sampling and the number of conidia collected. When the 2nd pair of variables was used, B. cinerea conidia collections were less the longer the periods of temperatures between 20 and 30°C with relative humidities above 70%. This type of information would facilitate a more rational physical and chemical control of the disease in greenhouse vegetable crops to prevent or reduce crop losses.