Rot

This "mouldy" strawberry most probably suffers from botrytis infection and this form of infection is called grey rot. Apart from its central role in the luscious sweet wines of Sauternes, Tokay etc, Botrytis cinerea is also an important in a number of other crops, including strawberries. The fuzzy mould is light grey and when advanced it becomes a dark grey in colour and looks as if ash has been sprinkled onto the affected fruit - hence the species name cinerea, same root as cinder and Cinderella. This is the destructive form of Botryits infection. When this fungus infects ripe healthy grapes, and infection is checked by damp dewy mornings (which encourages fungus growth) and sunny afternoons (which makes sure infection never gets out of control), the grapes slowly dehydrates and concentrates its acidity and sugars, giving the basis for making great dessert wines.