Fifty Years of Fungicide Development, Deployment, and Future Use.

Plant disease management has not significantly changed in the past 50 years, even as great strides have been made in the understanding of fungal biology and the etiology of plant disease. Issues of climate change, supply chain failures, war, political instability, and exotic invasives have created even more serious implications for world food and fiber security, and the stability of managed ecosystems, underscoring the urgency for reducing plant disease-related losses. Fungicides serve as the primary example of successful, widespread technology transfer, playing a central role in crop protection, reducing losses to both yield and postharvest spoilage. The crop protection industry has continued to improve upon previous fungicide chemistries, replacing active ingredients lost to resistance and newly understood environmental and human health risks, under an increasingly stricter regulatory environment. Despite decades of advances, plant disease management continues to be a constant challenge that will require an integrated approach, and fungicides will continue to be an essential part of this effort.

Sensitivity of Uncinula necator to Benomyl, Triadimefon, Myclobutanil, and Fenarimol in California.

Sensitivity of Uncinula necator subcultures to benomyl and the demethylation-inhibiting (DMI) fungicides triadimefon, myclobutanil, and fenarimol was assessed in 1993, 1994, and 1995 with leaf disk bioassays. In 1993, 1994, and 1995, 81.8, 96, and 96.7% of the subcultures, respectively, did not grow on leaf disks treated with 30 mg of benomyl per liter, whereas growth of the remaining subcultures was inhibited by more than 90%. Median EC50 values of triadimefon, myclobutanil, and fenarimol decreased from 1993 to 1994, and those of triadimefon decreased again from 1994 to 1995. In the same period, median EC50 values of all three DMI fungicides increased in a vineyard never exposed to DMI fungicides. The highest means and ranges of EC50 values found were those of triadimefon. Means and ranges were lower for myclobutanil and lowest for fenarimol, reflecting differences in inherent activities of the fungicides and po-tential for development of resistance. Pairwise correlations between EC50 values of each DMI fungicide were positive and confirmed earlier indications of cross resistance.

Long-term Effect of Temperature and Triadimefon on Proliferation of Uncinula necator: Implications for Fungicide Resistance and Disease Risk Assessment.

Triadimefon has been used in California to control Uncinula necator, causal agent of grape powdery mildew, since 1982. Instances of unsatisfactory control have occurred mainly in the cooler coastal areas of California. The effect of temperature and application of triadimefon was investigated over a 53-day-period on two U. necator isolates, sensitive and resistant to triadimefon. At 15°C, 25°C, or temperatures fluctuating between 15 and 25°C, in absence of triadimefon, the isolates continued to produce high numbers of conidia for the entire duration of the experiment. Sporulation declined at daily maximum temperatures of 32°C for 6 h, 36°C for 3 h, and 40°C for 1 h, but was detectable when the experiment was terminated. At these temperature regimes, sporulation of the triadimefon-treated sensitive isolate ceased after 23 days. When treated with triadimefon, sporulation of the resistant isolate was comparable to that of the water-treated control. At daily maximum temperatures of 32°C for 11 h, 36°C for 6 h, and 40°C for 3 h, sporulation of both isolates generally ceased after 23 days, regardless of triadimefon application. Triadimefon resistance is most likely to manifest itself under high disease pressure, which is in part a function of temperature. The duration of daily maximum temperatures may be a valuable addition to disease risk assessment models.