Abstract
Lecanicillium fungicola causes dry bubble disease of the white button mushroom and produces masses of sticky conidia. Humans are an important vector in the spread of this disease in mushroom farms. Three hand cleaning treatments (tap water, liquid soap and alcohol-based hand sanitisers (ABHSs)) were evaluated for their effectiveness at eliminating conidia of L. fungicola from a contaminated index finger. The hand sanitisers were highly efficacious in reducing the number of viable L. fungicola conidia on contaminated fingertips, although some variability was encountered. The tap water and liquid soap treatments had little effect. An in vitro test confirmed that the log10 reduction in viable conidia after 1 min exposure to the different treatments was ≤1 for tap water and soap and >4 for the ABHSs, which is similar to what is achieved in the medical care field for many bacteria and viruses. Thus, regular use of ABHSs by staff on mushroom farms may help to reduce the incidence of dry bubble disease. Their use could also be beneficial in other areas of intensive horticulture or agriculture where human hands are known to transmit plant pathogens to uninfected plants.
Highlights
Introduction and Francisco JGeaLecanicillium fungicola (Pruess) Zare and Gams (synonym: Verticillium fungicola (Pruess)Hassebrauk) is one of the most important pathogens of the commercially produced mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach [1]
Piasecka et al [7] surveyed mushroom farms for reservoirs of L. fungicola conidia and detected viable L. fungicola in samples taken from mushroom picking accessories/equipment (23–27% of samples), growing room floors
Viable L. fungicola conidia were present on 100 fingertip imprints for the positive control treatments when either no hand cleaning treatment was conducted or following hand washing in tap water only (30 s) (Figures 2 and 3)
Summary
Introduction and Francisco JGeaLecanicillium fungicola (Pruess) Zare and Gams (synonym: Verticillium fungicola (Pruess)Hassebrauk) is one of the most important pathogens of the commercially produced mushroom Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach [1]. Infected mushrooms eventually produce masses of thin-walled Lecanicillium conidia, held together in clusters with sticky mucilage, and this mucilage enables them to become attached to—and transported by—flies, crop debris, dust, mites, and people. Once a primary infection starts on a farm, the disease can be spread further by water-splash, the movement of contaminated flies within and between crops, and the movement of infected debris, dust and personnel around the farm. All of these activities will build up inoculum reservoirs on the farm that can lead to further primary infections in new crops. Piasecka et al [7] surveyed mushroom farms for reservoirs of L. fungicola conidia and detected viable L. fungicola in samples taken from mushroom picking accessories/equipment (23–27% of samples), growing room floors
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