Summary: In 2014, the authors evaluated fungicide products against a slate of several registered fungicides and an untreated control. Fungicides were tested for efficacy against gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea and powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera aphanis.

Introduction: The authors have been engaged in studying fruit and foliar pathogens in strawberry since 2007. While this group of pathogens includes anthracnose caused by species of Colletotrichum, leather rot caused by Phytophthora cactorum and angular leaf spot caused by Xanthomonas fragariae, the fungicide screening of 2014 concentrated on the two most common problems: gray mold caused by Botrytis cinerea, and powdery mildew caused by Podosphaera aphanis. Year after year these diseases are the most important foliar/fruit concerns for growers, and subsequently garner the most attention from fungicide distributors and manufacturers.

Materials and Methods:

Powdery Mildew: The trial consisted of treatments (Table 1) arranged in a randomized complete block design with each treatment replicated four times, on the Holly Ranch managed by Dole on the variety Monterey. Applications of all materials were made in the equivalent of 150 gallons per acre with a motorized backpack sprayer and hand held boom configured with ten 8001 flat fan nozzles operating at 120 psi, which is intended to closely mimic the conditions of commercial application. Applications of all materials were made two weeks apart: May 16, May 28, June 16, and June 24, 2014.

Powdery mildew evaluations were done on June 5, June 19 and July 7 and consisted of taking ten strawberry leaflets (per plot) of young to mid-age and assigning a percentage on a scale of 0-100% (in 10% increments) to the level of powdery mildew severity on the underside.

Table 1: 2014 Powdery Mildew Treatments

Results for 2014 Trial

Table 2: 2014 Powdery Mildew Evaluation- Percent Leaf Disease by Treatment

Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P=0.05, LSD)

Botrytis Gray Mold: The trial consisted of treatments (Table 3) arranged in a randomized complete block design with each treatment replicated four times, on the Holly Ranch managed by Dole on the variety Monterey. Applications of all materials were made in the equivalent of 150 gallons per acre with a motorized backpack sprayer and hand held boom configured with ten 8001 flat fan nozzles operating at 120 psi, which is intended to closely mimic the conditions of commercial application. Applications of all materials were made two weeks apart May 16, May 28, June 16, and June 24, 2014.

Evaluations for Botrytis infected fruit were made during the weekly fruit harvest by a professional crew of research plot harvesters beginning May 21 and continuing until July 16. Culls were sorted and examined for symptoms and signs of gray mold disease, and a percentage of gray mold infected fruit was calculated from the total fruit harvested from that plot.  Data results (Table 4) is presented as a percentage of Botrytis infected fruit from the  total amount harvested.

Table 3: Test materials for Botrytis study

Table 4: Results for 2014 trial

 Means followed by same letter do not significantly differ (P=0.05, LSD)

Discussion of Results for 2014 Trial:

Powdery Mildew: Control of powdery mildew by both rates of Merivon and a rotation of Torino and Mettle was exceptional, with percentages of infection significantly lower than many treatments in each of the three evaluation dates.

Looking at the last rating date on July 7, neither formulation of Thiram controlled powdery mildew, but the inclusion of Procure together with Thiram 24/7 did result in disease percentages below the untreated control. Test compounds isofetamid and pyriofenone had lower percentages of mildew than the untreated control. Rally 40W did not have significantly lower percentages of mildew than the untreated control.

Botrytis: With the exception of the June 18 evaluation date, no significant differences were found between any of treatments. On June 18, both treatments of Merivon demonstrated lower levels of Botrytis infected fruit than the untreated control, Thiram 24/7, isofetamid @10.3 fl oz + IB8111 and Pristine.

Final Note: The use of fungicides, including unregistered materials, is the topic of this article. Before using any of these products, check with your local Agricultural Commissioner's Office and consult product labels for current status of product registration, restrictions, and use information.

Acknowledgments.

We thank Patty Ayala, Kat Kammeijer and Monise Sheehan for their assistance with this trial. We acknowledge the California Strawberry Commission and cooperating companies, in particular Dole, for supporting this work.