Abstracts Biological Sciences

Assessment of Fungicides Performance for Control of Powdery Mildew of Lettuce in 1999

by Michael E. Matheron

Erysiphe cichoracearum is the fungus that causes powdery mildew of lettuce, a disease favored by warm and dry weather conditions. Several potential new fungicides were evaluated for control of this disease in 1999. Untreated lettuce plants were heavily infected with powdery mildew, whereas the disease was very light to virtually nonexistent in plots treated with Sovran, BAS 500, Rally and DPX-MU752. Higher levels of powdery mildew, still significantly less than that observed on untreated plants, were recorded in plots treated with the standard materials Microthiol Special and Trilogy in addition to several other compounds. The possible availability of one or more of these chemistries under development could help in efforts to control powdery mildew of lettuce and to establish and maintain a fungicide resistance management program for plant disease control products of importance for this crop.