Identification and control of Cladobotryum spp., causal agents of cobeweb disease of cultivated mushroom

Cladobotryum spp. are causal agents of cobweb disease, one of the most serious diseases of cultivated mushroom (Agaricus bisporus (Lange) Imbach) in Serbia and worldwide, which affects product quality and yield. The disease symptoms are: cottony fluffy white or yellowish to pink colonies on mushroom casing, rapid colonization of casing surface, covering of host basidiomata by mycelia, and their decay. Prochloraz-Mn has been officially recommended for mushroom cultivation in EU countries. However, inefficiency of prochloraz-Mn has been noted at a level of spotting symptoms of cobweb disease. With regard to cases of resistance evolution and a general threat to the environment and human health, special attention should be focused on good programmes of hygiene, and inventing and developing alternative methods of disease control.