Botrytis cinerea Conidia Preparation for Controlled Grape Botrytization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for inducing Botrytis cinerea infection in grapes for producing high-quality sweet wines are limited by the need for specific environmental conditions and rely on fresh, viable fungal cultures, which are difficult to maintain and result in inconsistent and reproducible infection, leading to variable wine quality.
Innovation Solution
A conidia-containing preparation with a C3-6 polyol and monobasic alkaline salt that inhibits germination temporarily, allowing for prolonged storage and easy activation, providing a uniform and controlled Botrytis cinerea inoculum for grape botrytization, enabling consistent and reproducible wine production.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If fresh viable Botrytis cinerea cultures are used for grape infection, then infection effectiveness is improved, but storage stability and reproducibility deteriorate due to difficulty in maintaining consistent culture quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts only the conidia (spores) from the fungal culture, separating them from the mycelial mass and culture medium. This extracted conidial preparation can be stored and transported independently, maintaining viability while eliminating the problems of maintaining live cultures. The conidia are harvested by filtering the culture broth and collecting the spore-containing pellet.
Solution Approach 2:
The conidia are prepared and concentrated in advance before use. The preparation involves growing the culture, harvesting conidia, and formulating them into a stable suspension that can be stored and applied later. This preliminary preparation ensures consistent inoculum quality and eliminates the need to maintain live cultures at the time of application.
2Reliability
If environmental conditions are controlled for Botrytis growth, then wine quality is improved, but production flexibility and geographic adaptability deteriorate due to narrow suitable conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The conidia are pre-prepared in a controlled laboratory setting, ensuring optimal fungal development and spore quality before application. This preliminary action removes the need for controlled environmental conditions during the actual grape infection process, as the pre-formed conidia are robust and can infect grapes under a wider range of field conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The conidial preparation acts as an intermediary that bridges the gap between controlled laboratory culture conditions and variable field conditions. The standardized conidia serve as a reliable inoculum source that can be applied uniformly across different geographic locations and environmental conditions, decoupling wine quality from strict environmental control requirements.
3Reliability
If Botrytis cinerea is used for grape dehydration and sugar enhancement, then wine sweetness and aromatic quality are improved, but risk of unwanted side infections and mycotoxin contamination increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a highly purified conidial preparation where only the desired Botrytis cinerea spores are present in concentrated form. This localized purity ensures that when applied to grapes, only the intended fungus establishes infection, excluding other potential pathogens and mycotoxin-producing organisms. The localized application of pure inoculum prevents mixed infections.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potential harm of using fungal cultures (risk of contamination and mycotoxins) into a benefit by using a highly purified, standardized conidial preparation. The rigorous purification and standardization processes eliminate harmful contaminants while preserving the beneficial Botrytis cinerea spores, thus converting the risk into a reliable, safe product that enhances wine quality without the associated dangers.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution provides a stable, easy-to-handle source of Botrytis cinerea for grape botrytization, reducing reliance on environmental conditions and ensuring high-quality, uniform wine production with reduced risk of unwanted side infections and mycotoxins, increasing yield and flexibility in wine production.
Implementation Method 1
A conidia-containing preparation with a C3-6 polyol and monobasic alkaline salt that inhibits germination temporarily
Implementation Method 2
The product of the invention comprises conidia of Botrytis cinerea, at least one C3-6 polyol, and at least one monobasic alkaline salt
Data Source
AI summary
A highly viable source of conidia of Botrytis cinerea, suitable for the botrytization of grapes is described. The invention relates to an aqueous composition comprising: conidia of Botrytis cinerea, at least one C3-6 polyol, and at least one monobasic alkaline salt, as well as pre formulates to obtain the same. Methods to perform a botrytization of a grapes, and methods to obtain a botrytized wine using the present compositions are also described.