Disinfests clean soil-free tools and benches if they are kept wet for 10 minutes. Metal tools should then be rinsed with clean water to prevent corrosion. The fungus Botrytis is found virtually everywhere plants are grown. Dormant Botrytis spores can be found on the surface of seeds or on the surface of established plants. Botrytis persists in crop debris, fading flower parts, and damaged tissues.
Seedlings growing under cool humid conditions are particularly susceptible to gray mold.
Sanitation is important for the control of Botrytis in bedding plants. Remove and destroy all crop debris and dying tissue. Ventilating and heating the greenhouse to reduce the humidity, particularly early in the day, is the most important step in Botrytis control. Fungicides are available for Botrytis control on many bedding plants in the greenhouse. It is illegal to apply a chemical to a plant if the name of the plant is not on the chemical label.