Powdery mildew: a threat to most cucurbit species
Farmer's Weekly|Farmer's Weekly 20 January 2023
This widespread disease, which grows well in environments with high humidity, can reduce yield significantly, warns Bill Kerr.
Bill Kerr.
Powdery mildew: a threat to most cucurbit species

Powdery mildew, a fungal disease, appears relatively late in the season and can do much damage once established. As plants get older, they become more susceptible.

One of the problems with this disease is that it quickly develops resistance to crop fungicides, thanks to its rapid life cycle. Resistance is hastened when a farmer discovers a fungicide that is effective and then uses it exclusively. If just one spore out of the millions circulating in an area has resistance to the product and reproduces, the product will no longer be effective in that area.

The solution is to alternate products with different modes of action; this will enable the current product to kill off the odd spore that has developed a resistant gene to the previous product.

Denne historien er fra Farmer's Weekly 20 January 2023-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.

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Denne historien er fra Farmer's Weekly 20 January 2023-utgaven av Farmer's Weekly.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

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