Control of lettuce drop disease, caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, with metham-sodium soil treatment and foliar application of benomyl

The effects of metham-sodium (MES) soil treatment, a varying number of benomyl foliar sprays (two, three and six) and combined treatments on control of lettuce drop disease were studied at two sites in Israel naturally infested with the pathogen Sclerotinia sclerotiorum. MES killed 85% of the S. sclerotiorum sclerotia in the top 10 cm of soil where initial populations were 0.6 and 1.6 viable sclerotia per kg soil at the two sites. Of the remaining viable sclerotia. only 30% produced apothecia. MES treatment alone reduced numbers of apothecia to 5% of those counted in the unsprayed control treatment. Numbers of ascospores deposited on the crop in the MES-treated plots were 7-20% of those deposited on control plots. Lettuce drop decreased the total yield by 30% in unsprayed control plots; MES application reduced the loss to 4% and also increased the number of marketable plants. Benomyl sprays alone also significantly reduced numbers of apothecia and disease development and consequently increased yield, although not to the extent observed with the MES treatment alone. Combined treatments produced the best disease control, but this improvement was not accompanied by any major increase in yield compared to that with MES treatment alone.