Mouldy grapes on the vine. Ripening bunch of grapes (Vitis vinifera) showing infection by grey mould (Botrytis cinerea). This fungus is pathogenic and

---

Mouldy grapes on the vine. Ripening bunch of grapes (Vitis vinifera) showing infection by grey mould (Botrytis cinerea). This fungus is pathogenic and widespread and causes a variety of rots, including stem and leaf rots. Here, it is affecting the fruit. Sometimes (as here, in a greenhouse) the effect on grapes leads to eventual destruction of the crop, but in certain sets of conditions the fungus causes the grapes to shrivel, reducing their water content and increasing their sugar content. This allows the production of especially prized sweet wines, when the mould is known as 'The Noble Rot'.

---

Size: 3468px × 5212px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: agriculture, biological, biology, botanical, botany, botrytis, cinerea, close-, common, crop, decaying, destroyed, destruction, detail, farming, flora, food, fruit, fungal, fungus, grape, greenhouse, grey, inedible, infected, infection, micro-organism, micro-organisms, microbe, microbial, microorganism, microorganisms, mold, mould, mouldy, nature, noble, pathogen, pathogenic, pathology, plant, rot, rotting, ruined, vine, vinifera, vitis