Biological control of Botrytis cinerea on tomato plants using Streptomyces ahygroscopicus strain CK-15

Botrytis cinerea commonly produces latent or nonsymptomatic infection on and within plant tissues, which can develop into symptomatic infection when triggered by changes in environmental conditions or host plant physiology. In this study, we develop a specific, sensitive real-time PCR assay for detecting and quantifying B. cinerea on tomato leaves to determine the control efficacy of Streptomyces ahygroscopicus var. wuyiensis as a biological fungicide. Our findings demonstrate that wuyiencin has significant effects on B. cinerea in tomato plants and that real-time PCR is a reliable method for evaluating the effects of biological fungicides on plant pathogens.