Experiments with some of the newer systemic fungicides on apple and marrow

In field trials against apple scab (caused by Venturia inaequalis) and powdery mildew (caused by Podosphaera leucotricha), improved control of one or other disease has been given by the newer systemic fungicides benomyl, triarimol and the thiophanates. However, in tests on apple seedlings in the greenhouse, biological evidence of translocation from individual deposits was generally limited to movement within the treated leaf. In greenhouse tests with cucumbers and marrows, using Oidium sp., there was again little evidence for movement of toxicant from a treated leaf, although effective disease control was readily obtained by root application of several compounds at low dosage. These results suggest that the systemic properties of the compounds evident when used as soil or seed treatments are of little account when they are applied as foliar sprays.     

Paecilomyces farinosus destroys powdery mildew colonies in detached leaf cultures but not on whole plants

Since 2001, several isolates of Blumeria graminis, the causal agent of cereal powdery mildew, maintained on detached leaves at the John Innes Centre, Norwich, UK, have spontaneously become infected with an unknown filamentous fungus whose mycelia have quickly overgrown the powdery mildew colonies and destroyed them completely. A total of five isolates of the contaminant were obtained and identified as Paecilomyces farinosus based on morphological characteristics and rDNA ITS sequence data. To determine whether these P. farinosus isolates can be considered as biocontrol agents (BCAs) of powdery mildews, we studied the interactions between P. farinosus and the following four powdery mildew species: B. graminis f.sp. hordei infecting barley, Oidium neolycopersici infecting tomato, Golovinomyces orontii infecting tobacco and Podosphaera fusca infecting cucumber. The powdery mildew colonies of all these four powdery mildew species were quickly destroyed by P. farinosus in leaf cultures but neither conidial suspensions nor cell-free culture filtrates of P. farinosus isolates could suppress the spread of powdery mildew infections on diseased barley, tomato, tobacco or cucumber plants in the greenhouse. It is concluded that P. farinosus cannot be considered as a promising BCA of powdery mildew infections although it can destroy powdery mildew colonies in detached leaf cultures and can be a menace during the maintenance of such cultures of cereal, apple, cucurbit and tomato powdery mildew isolates.     

Some studies on the systemic activity of the thiophanate fungicides in plants

Three closely related fungicides, thiophanate (NF 35), thiophanate methyl (NF 44) and NF 48 have been found to be active against a wide range of diseases including the powdery mildews of apple, cucumber and barley; apple and pear scab and grey mould of soft fruit. This paper deals with the preliminary experiments to compare their relative mobilities and biological persistence in crop plants, using the powdery mildews as indicator infections. NF 44 and NF 48 in particular showed a high degree of systemic activity by root uptake and persistence of action against barley and cucumber mildew but very little systemic activity against apple mildew on potted rootstocks. They have also displayed trans-laminar and localised movement towards the leaf apex in sprayed cucumber and barley leaves but movement was not so marked in sprayed apple leaves. NF 48 was also active as a seed dressing against loose smut of barley.     

Effect of culture filtrates of seventeen fungicolous fungi on sporulation of cucumber powdery mildew

Culture filtrates of 17 different fungal species thriving upon other fungi were tested for their ability to reduce sporulation of cucumber powdery mildew,Sphaerotheca fuliginea.All culture filtrates reduced the number of healthy conidiophores. However, the differences in activity between the various treatments were not as conspicuous as after application of spore suspensions. The best results were obtained with culture filtrates ofCalcarisporium arbuscula. These reduced the number of healthy conidiophores to ca. 2% of the unsprayed control plants.     

Antisporulant action of fungicides against Podosphaera leucotricha on apple seedlings

A number of commercial fungicides and dinitrophenolic compounds were tested for their ability to suppress further sporulation of established infections of the apple mildew fungus Podosphaera leucotricha on seedlings in the greenhouse. Although they did not kill the fungus, two organophosphorus and two benzimidazole-type compounds gave powerful suppression for at least 18 days. Other fungicides known to control apple mildew in the field had a less marked effect. Sporulation occurred on subsequent untreated growth to the same extent as on control seedlings, except where either of two substituted dinitrophenols had been used.     

Surfactants for the control of apple mildew

Reduction of the overwintering powdery mildew fungus Podosphaera leucotricha resulted from one application of a variety of surfactants (at 50 g/litre a.i.) to apple trees during the dormant season. Examples of non-ionic, anionic and cationic materials were tested and some gave promising control. Successful treatments delayed bud burst during the following spring and caused some loss in fruit yield.     

Overwintering of Ampelomyces mycoparasites on apple trees and other plants infected with powdery mildews

Apple shoots and aerial parts of 13 other plant species infected with powdery mildews during the previous season were collected in late winter and early spring between 1998 and 2003 at a total of 34 sample sites in Hungary. Samples were examined for the presence of overwintering structures of Ampelomyces, common mycoparasites of powdery mildews. Pycnidia and resting hyphae resembling those of Ampelomyces were found on six plant species, including apple. Their viability and subsequent mycoparasitic activity of the hyphae emerging from the overwintered fungal structures were studied in vitro to determine whether they can serve as sources of primary inocula of Ampelomyces in the spring. Overwintered pycnidia of Ampelomyces collected in the spring, and produced in both the ascomata and the conidiophores of powdery mildews during the previous season, initiated the life cycle of these mycoparasites when placed close to fresh powdery mildew colonies in vitro. Similarly, thick-walled resting hyphae, found in the dried powdery mildew mycelia which covered the overwintered aerial parts of the host plants, also germinated and gave rise to new intracellular pycnidia of Ampelomyces when powdery mildew colonies were inoculated with them in vitro. On apple trees, Ampelomyces mycoparasites overwintered as resting hyphae in the dried powdery mildew mycelia covering the shoots and in the parasitized ascomata of Podosphaera leucotricha on the bark and the scales of the buds. Approximately 31% of the field samples collected from apple trees in spring between 1998 and 2003 contained overwintered structures of Ampelomyces. Artificial bursting of apple buds in the laboratory showed that both P. leucotricha and Ampelomyces start their life cycle during or soon after bud burst, but Ampelomyces can only slowly follow the spread of its mycohost on infected leaves. Most probably, the mycoparasites did not overwinter in the dormant hyphae of P. leucotricha in the buds, but only on the bark and the bud scales, as their hyphae were not found in the young hyphae of apple powdery mildew that appeared on the leaf tissues during bud burst. This study demonstrated that Ampelomyces mycoparasites can survive the winter in the field as pycnidia and as resting hyphae in the dried mycelia of their mycohosts.     

Effect of culture filtrates of seventeen fungicolous fungi on sporulation of cucumber powdery mildew

Culture filtrates of 17 different fungal species thriving upon other fungi were tested for their ability to reduce sporulation of cucumber powdery mildew,Sphaerotheca fuliginea.All culture filtrates reduced the number of healthy conidiophores. However, the differences in activity between the various treatments were not as conspicuous as after application of spore suspensions. The best results were obtained with culture filtrates ofCalcarisporium arbuscula. These reduced the number of healthy conidiophores to ca. 2% of the unsprayed control plants.     

PC-based disease warning systems for use by apple growers1

To protect apple orchards from diseases efficiently, growers need farm-based rather than regional disease warning systems. This paper describes three PC-based systems from Horticulture Research International (GB). These systems, VENTEM, PODEM and NECTEM, provide warnings in the form of infection alerts and disease forecasts of Venturia inaequalis (scab), Podosphaera leucotricha (powdery mildew) and Nectria galligenu (European canker and fruit rot), respectively. The modular structure, operation and practical implementation of these systems are described and compared. A major input is weather data recorded automatically by Metos weather stations sited on farms. Each system has a weather-driven dynamic model simulating inoculum production and the infection process. The systems use information on quantity of inoculum, cultivar susceptibility and other host factors to produce disease forecasts which are specific to individual orchard blocks and cultivars.     

A comparison of the efficiency of sprays of two drop-size ranges in an apple orchard

A two-season trial of a mist blower-sprayer with improved air-flow characteristics was made to assess the relative efficiency of 120 and 180 μm mass median diameter (MMD) drop-size sprays for the control of apple powdery mildew (Podosphaera leucotricha) and fruit tree red spider mite (Panonychus ulmi Koch) in a hedgerow-type apple orchard. The principal pesticide was binapacryl, applied at two rates for each drop-size. Under typical commercial conditions the smaller drop-size approximately halved the incidence of apple mildew found when the conventional 180 μm MMD drop-size spray was used; there was no conclusive advantage against red spider mite. Unexpectedly large variations occurred in the deposits from the weekly applications and were related to the humidity during spraying.     

Fungicidal activity and chemical constitution. Part XXI: The activity of substituted 1, 4-naphthoquinones and quinoline-5, 8-diones against apple powdery mildew

Several series of alkyl-substituted amino-, bromo-, chloro-, fluoro- and hydroxy-1, 4-naphthoquinones, as well as some 6-alkylaminoquinoline-5, 8-diones and 7-alkyl-6-hydroxyquinoline-5, 8-diones were prepared and tested as protectant fungicides against apple powdery mildew (caused by Podosphaera leucotricha). While most of the compounds did not reduce infection when applied at 10^?3M, several 3-alkyl-2-bromo-and 3-alkyl-2-chloro-1, naphthoquinones were found to have ED₅₀ values below 50 × 10^?5M.     

Fungicidal activity and chemical constitution XXT. The fungitoxicity of aliphatic polyamines

Fifteen polyamines have been prepared and shown to inhibit spore germination of Penicillium expansum and Neurospora crassa in vitro, but not Erysiphe graminis, Sphaerotheca fuliginea or Podosphaera leucotricha; no activity was shown against S. fuliginea on marrow seedlings or P. leucotricha on apple seedlings. Spermine homologues were considerably more active than spermidine homologues, but greatest activity was shown by the two naturally occurring compounds.     

Relating disease progress to cumulative numbers of trapped spores: apple powdery mildew and scab epidemics in sprayed and unsprayed orchard plots

A technique for relating the progress of plant diseases caused by airborne fungal pathogens to cumulative numbers of trapped spores is proposed. The relationship involves two epidemiological parameters—a disease asymptote and the infection efficiency (disease units/spore) of inoculum. The technique was evaluated using data on apple powdery mildew and scab epidemics in sprayed and unsprayed apple orchard plots. For powdery mildew, the observed relationships were close to those proposed in the unsprayed plot, but changed after or during the period of fungicide application in sprayed plots. Parameter estimates gave useful comparative information on the epidemics. The technique was not useful for scab because of the discontinuous patterns of infection.     

Accumulation of Pathogenesis-Related Proteins in the Apoplast of a Susceptible Cultivar of Apple (Malus domestica cv. Elstar) after Infection by Venturia inaequalis and Constitutive Expression of PR Genes in the Resistant Cultivar Remo

Leaves of apple (Malus domestica cv. Elstar) were infected with a cloned isolate of the apple scab Venturia inaequalis. The intercellular washing fluid (IWF) of these plants was collected and the variation in the composition of proteins in the IWF was analysed by SDS-PAGE and two-dimensional gel electrophoresis during and after the infection with V. inaequalis, the causal agent of apple scab. The subsequent analysis of induced proteins by electron spray ionization quadrupole time of flight mass spectroscopy revealed the presence of -1,3-glucanase, chitinase, thaumatin-like protein and a cysteine-like protease in M. domestica leaves infected by V. inaequalis. These results were confirmed by immunoblotting with antibodies against some of these proteins. Moreover, a non-specific lipid transfer protein was identified in uninfected leaves: the amount declined to a non-detectable level within the first week after infection by V. inaequalis. The analysis of the IWF of M. domestica cv. Remo, bearing resistances to apple scab, powdery mildew and fire blight, showed a protein pattern comparable to that of the IWF from V. inaequalis infected leaves from cultivar Elstar indicating the constitutive production at least of some of the pathogenesis-related proteins in the resistant cultivar.     

Selection and orchard testing of antagonists suppressing conidial production by the apple scab pathogen <Emphasis Type="Italic">Venturia inaequalis</Emphasis>

Apple scab caused by Venturia inaequalis is a major disease in apple production. Epidemics in spring are initiated by ascospores produced on overwintering leaves whereas epidemics during summer are driven by conidia produced on apple leaves by biotrophic mycelium. Fungal colonisers of sporulating colonies of V. inaequalis were isolated and their potential to reduce the production of conidia of V. inaequalis was evaluated on apple seedlings under controlled conditions. The four most effective isolates of the 63 screened isolates were tested subsequently under Dutch orchard conditions in 2006. Repeated applications of conidial suspensions of Cladosporium cladosporioides H39 resulted in an average reduction of conidial production by V. inaequalis of approximately 40%. In 2007, applications of conidial suspensions of C. cladosporioides H39 reduced conidial production by V. inaequalis by 69% on August 6 and by 51% on August 16, but no effect was found on August 20. However, viability of available conidia of C. cladosporioides H39 was low at the end of the experiment. Epiphytic and endophytic colonisation by Cladosporium spp. of leaves treated during the experiment with C. cladosporioides H39 was significantly higher than on control leaves sampled 6 weeks after the last application. It is concluded that C. cladosporioides H39 has promising potential as a biological control agent for apple scab control. More information is needed on the effect of C. cladosporioides H39 on apple scab epidemics as well as on mass production, formulation and shelf life of conidia of the antagonist.     

Seed treatment for the control of Sphaerotheca fuliginea in muskmelon seedlings

The effects of powdery mildew (caused by Sphaerotheca fuliginea )on muskmelon seedlings and the efficacy of seed treatment with systemic fungicides were examined under controlled environmental conditions. The fresh weight of seedlings infected with powdery mildew was substantially less than that of uninoculated seedlings 5 weeks after inoculation, and the inoculated seedlings shrivelled 1 week later. The fungicides fenarimol and triadimenol applied to the seeds did not affect germination and suppressed powdery mildew effectively when applied at a rate equivalent to 8 g fungicide product per kg seed. Under conditions moderately conducive to the pathogen, fenarimol markedly reduced disease severity and its effect when applied as a seed treatment was as effective as foliar treatment. When conditions were highly conducive to the pathogen, seed treatment with fenarimol was not effective. Development of powdery mildew and efficacy of the seed treatments were related to soil type: disease developed earlier and more intensely on seedlings grown in sandy soil than those in organic medium, and seed treatment had a more pronounced effect on seedlings grown in sandy soil. The results indicate that fungicidal treatment of muskmelon seeds may offer an adequate means of reducing powdery mildew infections on seedlings.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Spongospora subterranea</Emphasis> soil contamination and its relationship to severity of powdery scab on potatoes

We investigated soil contamination by Spongospora subterranea f. sp. subterranea (Sss) and disease severity of powdery scab in 29 potato fields in Hokkaido, Japan, using a hydroponic culture method with tomato seedlings as bait plants. The quantity of Sss infection on the roots of bait plants was evaluated using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and expressed in terms of the infection potential in the soil. The infection potential was positively correlated with the disease severity of harvested tubers, whereas the spore ball density determined using PCR had an indistinct relationship with disease severity. The infection potential can be useful in evaluating soil contamination and in applying countermeasures against powdery scab.     

Within‐ and between‐orchard variability in the sensitivity of Venturia inaequalis to myclobutanil,a DMI fungicide,in the UK

BACKGROUND: Myclobutanil, a demethylation inhibitor (DMI) fungicide, is an important fungicide for controlling apple scab and powdery mildew. Overuse of this fungicide has led to establishment of scab isolates with reduced sensitivity to this fungicide in several countries. Experiments were conducted to determine the sensitivity of the causal agent of apple scab, Venturia inaequalis (Cooke) Winter, to myclobutanil in the UK, in order to assess whether there is a relationship between fungal insensitivity and the number of DMI applications, and establishing whether fungal sensitivity varied greatly within an orchard. RESULTS: Reduced sensitivity of V. inaequalis to myclobutanil was positively related linearly to the number of DMI applications. ED₅₀ values ranged from 0.028 to 1.017 mg L^?1 (average = 0.292) for the baseline population, whereas isolates from two other orchards had much greater ED₅₀ values, ranging from 0.085 to 5.213 mg L^?1 (average = 1.852). There was significant variation in fungal sensitivity to myclobutanil among fungal isolates from different locations within a single orchard. CONCLUSIONS: Spatial spread of insensitive isolates of V. inaequalis to myclobutanil is likely to be limited in distance. Conidia may be an important source of primary inoculum. Myclobutanil should still be effective for most field isolates, but its use should be strategically integrated with other groups of fungicides. Copyright © 2009 Society of Chemical Industry     

Effect of Film-forming Polymers on Infection of Barley with the Powdery Mildew Fungus, Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei

The effects of three film-forming compounds, Ethokem, Bond and Vapor Gard, on infection of barley by the powdery mildew fungus Blumeria graminis f. sp. hordei were examined in glasshouse and field experiments. The three compounds provided significant control of powdery mildew infection when applied as pre- or post-inoculation treatments in the glasshouse. Such treatment had no effect on plant growth. Bond and Vapor Gard reduced the germination of conidia of B. graminis by 78% and 85% respectively, and reduced the subsequent formation of appressoria (73% and 85% respectively) and haustoria (75% and 79% respectively). The three compounds were less effective in field experiments, although they provided significant control of mildew infection and had no impact on plant growth and grain yield.     

A microscopic study of the wheat-powdery mildew relationship after application of the systemic compounds procaine,griseofulvin and 6-azauracil

On wheat seedlings systemically protected by root application of procaine-hydrochloride, griseofulvin or 6-azauracil, germination of oidia ofErysiphe graminis f. sp.tritici and penetration of this fungus into the epidermal cell wall was as high as on control plants. Inhibition of powdery mildew development became apparent only after the penetration process had started. About 85% of the infections were halted within 24 hours after the inoculation, and did not result in the formation of a haustorium. In the other cases usually not more than one haustorium per infection court was formed, which often showed anomalies, characteristic for each compound used. Development of mycelium was scanty or absent and no sporulation occurred. Similarly, on plants of a resistant wheat variety, powdery mildew inhibition became apparent only after penetration of the host had started. There was no development of mycelium or sporulation. A severe reaction of certain epidermal cells to penetration by powdery mildew was observed on resistant as well as on treated and untreated susceptible plants. However, in relation to the total number of infections, the percentage of this type of reaction was low.