Summit County Master Gardeners

Best Blooms for Butterflies 🦋
🌻 Make sure to look for these native plants when you're adding to your garden this spring and summer! Check out the Leap4Bio native plant nursery map to find native plants near you: https://ow.ly/K7yM50VAluv

Our Biocontrol of the Month for July is the Aureobasidium pullulans fungus. This fungus has proven incredibly useful in preventing plant diseases, as it both outcompetes pathogenic fungi for nutrients and produces antifungal defensive compounds. A. pullulans is currently being studied for its potential in warding off common strawberry diseases such as gray mold. In a recent study, scientists used bumblebees as vectors by having the bees pick up A. pullulans spores (in a manner similar to how they pick up pollen) and deposit them onto strawberry plants. The plants innoculated with A. pullulans showed reduced mold infections! To learn more about this fascinating study, follow the link: https://apsjournals.apsnet.org/doi/10.1094/PHYTO-05-21-0205-R