Agriculture

Powdery mildew and leaf blotch are important diseases that affect strawberries in Australia. Both diseases can reduce transplant quality in the strawberry nursery sector, and decrease yield in the fruit sector. Disease control in the strawberry nursery and fruit sectors relies on the use of the fungicides myclobutanil and trifloxystrobin. Due to the way these fungicides act against the pathogen, their repeated use in the nurseries and fruit farms increases the risk of the fungus becoming resistant to the chemicals. Resistance is when a pathogen is no longer controlled by a fungicide when used as directed. To address the risk of resistance, a series of field experiments were conducted in strawberry nurseries in Queensland and Victoria over three seasons to assess the efficacy of several fungicides, including biorationals, with different modes of action against the diseases. Biorational is a term given to products that are relatively non-toxic to humans and have a low impact on the en...