VG00048 Alternate fungicides for sclerotinia control

Sclerotinia diseases, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and S. minor, are a major problem in many horticultural crops, including beans, brassicas, capsicum,
lettuce, carrots, swedes, turnips, potatoes and pyrethrum.

Apart from procymidone, the lack of other effective registered fungicides for Sclerotinia control poses
a huge problem for the horticultural industry in Australia.

In 2004 this problem was highlighted by the sudden withdrawal of procymidone from use on some
vegetables, as well as severe restrictions on its use, storage and handling on others, due to residue concerns.

Therefore, a suitable fungicide replacement that is
as effective as procymidone is urgently needed.

This poster presents the results of trial studies conducted to compare the efficacies of alternative fungicides to
procymidone, from different chemical groups, for Sclerotinia control on lettuce, bean and pyrethrum crops in 2003-2005.


Authors
Oscar Villalta Ian Porter
Tuula Launonen Denise Wite
Hoong Pung Susan Cross
Alison Stewart Nimal Rabeendran
Kirstin McLean John Hunt

VG00048 Alternative Fungicides for Sclerotinia Disease Control - Poster
Download 321kb

Disease Control

  • Filan® was shown to be the most effective alternative
    to Sumisclex® in reducing lettuce drop on lettuces and plant wilt on pyrethrum due
    to S. minor, and white mould on green beans due to S. sclerotiorum.

  • Filan® is the most suitable replacement for Sumisclex®
    for Sclerotinia disease management. Trials from these studies have contributed to
    temporary permits for Filan® use for in Australian horticultural industries in 2005.

  • Gypsum applied in mixtures with Amistar®, Filan® or Sumisclex® on pyrethrum
    showed a trend of improved disease control. Similar trends in improved
    disease control were also observed in mixtures of gypsum and Filan® or Sumisclex®
    in green beans and cos lettuces.

  • Filan® rates ranging from 0.25 kg/ha to 1.2 kg/ha examined in field studies showed
    that rates of 0.8 kg/ha and above have excellent disease control. Therefore,
    the use of Filan® 0.8 kg/ha and 1.0 kg/ha are recommended. The use of effective
    rates is vital to prevent fungicide resistance.

Acknowledgments

Funding from the Australian government through Horticulture Australia Limited, Australian vegetable growers, Tasmanian pyrethrum growers, Botanical Resources Australia Pty Ltd and Nufarm Australia Limited are gratefully acknowledged.

Many people and organisations provided assistance to make this research possible including:

• Susan Pascoe, Barbara Czerniakowski, Rosa Crnov and Peta Easton (PIRVic, DPI Vic) for their invaluable
assistance in conducting laboratory and field work and in compiling data.

• Nigel Crump for advice on soil
amendments and Craig Murdoch for technology transfer.

• Field trials at Cambridge and Margate in southern Tasmania were conducted with the assistance of Dennis
Patten and Lee Peterson, Serve-Ag staff based in Hobart. Other Serve-Ag staff who also assisted in this
project were Peter Aird and Sarah Lamprey.

• Mark Shakelton at CSIRO Entomology, Perth, conducted plant analysis for isothiocyanates in brassica green
manure tissues.

•  The staff at the PIRVic, Department of Primary Industries, Knoxfield for their assistance in establishing and
harvesting field trials.

• The lettuce growers in Victoria and Tasmania who graciously allowed trials on their farms and provided
assistance in their establishment, maintenance and harvest.

• The commercial nurseries in Victoria and Tasmania which graciously produced seedlings for trials and
allowed experiments on their glasshouses and provided assistance in their establishment and maintenance.

• Biometricians Graham Hepworth and Nam Nguyen for their input into trial design and data analysis.

• Agrochemical companies for providing samples of fungicides and other companies for supplying biocontrol products for laboratory, glasshouse and field work.

• The authors thank the members of the advisory group, Kon Koroneos, Stan Velisha, Frank Ruffo for their valuable contribution to this project.


^ Back to top