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ARS Home » Plains Area » College Station, Texas » Southern Plains Agricultural Research Center » Crop Germplasm Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #312837
Title: Effect of fungicides on sorghum anthracnose and grain mold in Burleson County, Texas, 2014

Author
item ISAKEIT, THOMAS - Texas A&M University
item COLLINS, DELROY - Texas A&M University
item ROONEY, WILLIAM - Texas A&M University
item Prom, Louis

Submitted to: Plant Disease Management Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 2/6/2015
Publication Date: 3/20/2015
Citation: Isakeit, T., Collins, D., Rooney, W., Prom, L.K. 2015. Effect of fungicides on sorghum anthracnose and grain mold in Burleson County, Texas, 2014. Plant Disease Management Reports. 9:FC035.

Interpretive Summary: Anthracnose and grain mold are two of the most important diseases of sorghum. These diseases can cause significant yield losses and lower grain quality. To develop control methods, three fungicides were used to determine their effectiveness in reducing anthracnose and grain mold infections in the field. Two of the fungicides Headline and Priaxor were shown to significantly reduce anthracnose infection when compared to the control or the Proline treatment. However, none of the fungicide treatments reduced grain mold or affected test weight. This work identified two fungicides that can be used to reduce anthracnose infection and increase sorghum productivity.

Technical Abstract: The experiment was conducted at the Texas A&M AgriLife Experiment Station near College Station (Burleson County), using the hybrids BH3822 and BH 5566. The seed was planted 10 Apr in a Belk clay soil. There were four replicates per treatment arranged in a randomized, blocked factorial design. Treatments consisted of three fungicides and a control. On 27 May, plots were inoculated with Colletotrichum sublineola by sprinkling a few colonized sorghum seed into the whorls of plants. Fungicides were applied on 8 Jun (boot growth stage) to the middle two rows with a CO2-pressurized backpack sprayer, at 22 psi in a spray volume of 10 gal/A, using TeeJet DG80015VS flat fan tips. Plants were evaluated for anthracnose on 7 Aug using a 1-5 rating scale. To assess grain mold, three panicles were harvested from each replicate on 12 Aug, threshed, and pooled. Each replicate was assessed for grain mold and weathering using a 1-5 scale. The center two rows of plots were harvested on 13 Aug for yield assessment. Yields were adjusted to 14% moisture. Averaged over the hybrids, the Headline and Priaxor treatments had less anthracnose than the control or the Proline treatment, but none of the fungicide treatments reduced grain mold or affected test weight. There was an increase in yield with the Priaxor treatment, but not with the other fungicides. Across all treatments, test weight was higher for BH3822 than BH5566.