Carbendazim resistance in field isolates of Sclerotinia sclerotiorum in China and its management

The ascomycete fungus Sclerotinia sclerotiorum is a devastating necrotrophic plant pathogen with an unusually broad host range and worldwide distribution. The benzimidazole fungicide carbendazim has been widely used to control S. sclerotiorum in China for more than three decades and high levels of carbendazim resistance have been reported in eastern China. In this study, carbendazim sensitivity was assessed in a total of 5042 field isolates of S. sclerotiorum collected from different geographical regions of China from 2008 to 2013. Results showed that no carbendazim resistant isolates could be detected in northwestern and northeastern China. In 2013, 0.77% and 0.72% of the field isolates assayed were highly resistant to carbendazim in Hunan and Hubei provinces of central China, respectively. In Anhui province of eastern China, the frequencies of carbendazim resistance were 18.18%, 7.05% and 7.25% in 2008, 2011 and 2012, respectively. The decrease in frequency of carbendazim resistance in Anhui province from 2008 to 2012 was statistically significant (P = 0.001). Nevertheless, no significant differences (P ≥ 0.16) were found in fitness parameters such as mycelial growth on PDA media, virulence to oilseed rape plants and oxalic acid production between carbendazim resistant and sensitive isolates. A negative cross resistance pattern was detected between carbendazim and diethofencarb. Mixture of carbendazim and diethofencarb (4:1) applied at 200 μg/mL provided 100% and 91.5% preventive efficacy against carbendazim resistant and sensitive isolates, respectively, and 87.1% and 81.7% curative efficacy against resistant and sensitive isolates, respectively.