Location: Sugarbeet Research
Project Number: 3060-21000-045-023-S
Project Type: Non-Assistance Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jun 1, 2024
End Date: Dec 30, 2025
Objective:
Sugar beet production continues to be challenged by yield-limiting foliar diseases,particularly Cercospora leaf spot (CLS). Management of these diseases is a current research priority of the Michigan sugar beet industry. Despite three-year croprotation practices, factors such as limited soil disturbance (tillage), common weed hosts, and neighboring prior year sugar beet fields result in annually reoccurring CLS pressure. Targeting fungal pathogen survival in infected leaf residues is an understudied and underutilized strategy for managing CLS. Effective fungicide alternative tools would also help to manage fungicide resistance development in pathogen populations and promote sustainable management practices. Laboratory, greenhouse, and fields studies are proposed to evaluate the impacts of cover crops on CLS control.
Approach:
Greenhouse and field studies will be conducted to evaluated the effects of cover crops on Cercospora leaf spot in sugar beet. Proposed cover crops include cereal rye (var. Wheeler), oats and crimson clover mixture, and oilseed radish(var. Defender). In the first season, a research field will be planted to a susceptible sugar beet variety and inoculated to promote CLS development. At harvest, defoliated infected leaves will be lightly incorporated prior to planting of cover crops. The study will be arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replicates. Plots will be surrounded by 10-ft buffer zones. Cover crop establishment will be measured and terminated the following spring. A typical rotation crop such as corn will be planted in the same footprint. Spore levels will be monitored using highly susceptible sentinel beets. Soil samples will be collected in the spring after cover crop establishment. Soil samples will be submitted for pH and nutrient testing and fractions may be submitted for assessment of microbial activity.
