Fungicides for Control of Downy Mildew on Pickling Cucumber in Michigan

Michigan growers rely on fungicides to limit cucurbit downy mildew (CDM), incited by Pseudoperonospora cubensis; resistance of the pathogen to fungicides is a concern. We evaluated fungicides against CDM in Michigan field studies from 2015 to 2017. According to the relative area under the disease progress curve (rAUDPC), in 2015, mandipropamid, propamocarb, fluxapyroxad/pyraclostrobin, copper octanoate, and dimethomorph resulted in disease levels similar to the control. These treatments, along with cymoxanil, were similar to the control in 2016. Fungicides that were ineffective during 2015 and 2016 did not limit CDM in 2017. Famoxadone/cymoxanil and fluopicolide did not limit CDM in 2017. Each year, the following treatments were similar for disease based on rAUDPC data: oxathiapiprolin applied alone or premixed with chlorothalonil or mandipropamid, ametoctradin/dimethomorph, fluazinam, mancozeb/zoxamide, cyazofamid, and ethaboxam. An exception occurred in 2017, when ethaboxam was less effective than fluazinam, oxathiapiprolin/chlorothalonil, and oxathiapiprolin/mandipropamid. Mancozeb and chlorothalonil treatments were similar in 2015 and 2017, according to rAUDPC data. In 2017, yields were increased for oxathiapiprolin/chlorothalonil, oxathiapiprolin/mandipropamid, mancozeb, ametoctradin/dimethomorph, mancozeb/zoxamide, ethaboxam, cyazofamid, chlorothalonil, and fluazinam compared with the untreated control.