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A precisely targeted application strategy of dipping young cucumber fruit in fungicide to control cucumber gray mold
Author(s) -
He Leiming,
Cui Kaidi,
Song Yufei,
Zhang Zhengqun,
Li Beixing,
Mu Wei,
Liu Feng
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.5055
Subject(s) - fludioxonil , fungicide , botrytis cinerea , mold , horticulture , biology , botrytis , disease control , agronomy , botany , microbiology and biotechnology
BACKGROUND Gray mold is a ubiquitous destructive plant disease found worldwide. To avoid the shortcomings of conventional spraying systems for controlling this disease, such as high selection pressure on Botrytis cinerea for resistance and fungicide waste resulting from spray drift, a precisely targeted application strategy of dipping young cucumber fruit in a mixture of fungicide and forchlorfenuron (plant growth regulator, PGR) during the bloom period to control cucumber gray mold was developed in the current study. RESULTS Without leaving above‐limit residues in cucumber fruits, dipping in fludioxonil at 30 mg L −1 provided a greater efficacy (85.4%) against cucumber gray mold than did spraying at 100 mg L −1 (76.4%). Importantly, fludioxonil mixed with forchlorfenuron from 25 to 35 mg L −1 increased the yield of cucumbers by 26.2–36.7% compared to dipping fruit only in forchlorfenuron. The increased yield may be a benefit of controlling gray mold. CONCLUSION Dipping fruit in fungicides and PGRs seems to be a potential precisely targeted application strategy to not only control cucumber gray mold effectively but also, through the action of PGRs, to increase the cucumber yield. This novel application method is believed to have a bright prospect in cucumber production in Chinese solar glasshouses. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry