We tested multiple-nozzle fungicide spray booms with or without swinging the boom to assess their efficiency for spray coverage on cabbage and/or efficacy of the fungicide against Sclerotinia rot of cabbage. Tests with water-sensitive paper showed that sprays without swinging the booms provided better coverage of young cabbage plants and cabbage heads than sprays with boom swinging. Disease incidence after sprays of an iprodione suspension without swinging the boom was 50% less than that after sprays with swinging. Thus, control efficacy of fungicide sprays is higher when the booms are not swung, at least against Sclerotinia rot of cabbage.
Electrolyzed water has sterilizing power against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Here we volatilized slightly acidic electrolyzed water (SAEW) using a forced-air volatilizing system and tested its efficacy against Botrytis cinerea, which causes gray mold, on cut roses stored in high humidity. The volatilized SAEW inhibited germination of conidia and development of gray mold on petals treated with at least 10,000 μg/m2 of free available chlorine (FAC). Treatment of volatilized SAEW with 20,000 μg/m2 of FAC inhibited gray mold on cut flowers densely packed in a bucket for transport to the market. The volatilized SAEW inhibited disease development on cut flowers with naturally adhering B. cinerea. Importantly, the volatilized SAEW does not wet the flowers. These results provide new insight into practical use of the treatment to prevent gray mold on cut roses.
Conventional methods to detect the fungus Diaporthe destruens, which causes foot rot of sweet potato, are time-consuming and often inconclusive. Here we designed specific primers for the histone H3 gene of D. destruens to use for direct PCR using conidia for rapid, specific detection of the pathogen.