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ARS Home » Midwest Area » East Lansing, Michigan » Sugarbeet and Bean Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #393252
Research Project: Genetic Characterization for Sugar Beet Improvement

Location: Sugarbeet and Bean Research

Title: Use of a foliar heat treatment to improve Cercospora leaf spot management in sugarbeet

Author
item HERNANDEZ, ALEXANDRIA - Michigan State University
item BUBLITZ, DANIEL - Michigan State University
item WENZEL, TOM - Michigan State University
item BLOOMINGDALE, CHRIS - Michigan State University
item RUTH, SARAH - Michigan State University
item PINCUMBE, CAMERON - Michigan State University
item Hanson, Linda
item WILBUR, JAIME - Michigan State University

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/1/2022
Publication Date: 11/1/2022
Citation: Hernandez, A.P., Bublitz, D., Wenzel, T., Bloomingdale, C., Ruth, S., Pincumbe, C., Hanson, L.E., Wilbur, J.F. 2022. Use of a foliar heat treatment to improve Cercospora leaf spot management in sugarbeet [abstract]. Abstracts of Presentations at Plant Health 2022. 112:S3.7. https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-112-11-S3.1.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1094/PHYTO-112-11-S3.1

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Sugar beets account for over 50% of U.S. sugar production but are adversely affected by a multitude of diseases that reduce sugar yield and increase impurities. Cercospora leaf spot, caused by the fungal pathogen Cercospora beticola, is a major foliar disease of sugar beet. Since this pathogen survives primarily in infested leaf tissue, in this study, management strategies to reduce inoculum overwintering and survival were evaluated. Treatments included plowing immediately post-harvest (6-in. depth), heat treatment with a propane-fueled burner at 1 mph pre-harvest, and application of a desiccant (saflufenacil) 7 days pre-harvest. After treatment, leaf samples were evaluated at 0-, 45-, 90-, and 135-days post-harvest to determine C. beticola viability using lesion sporulation and confirmation by isolation. Susceptible beets were planted in the same plots the following season. Disease ratings and number of lesions on highly susceptible sentinel beets were used to measure inoculum pressure. In 2019, the heat treatment significantly reduced lesion sporulation (P < 0.0001) and successful C. beticola isolation (P < 0.05) in at-harvest samples. In 2020, reduced numbers of CLS lesions were observed on sentinel beets in heat-treated plots at the first two rating periods (P < 0.05). Heat treatment also reduced the area under the disease progress curve for CLS assessed the season after treatments were applied (P < 0.01). In 2020-21, repeated trials again demonstrated that a 1-mph fall heat treatment reduced C. beticola survival and inoculum levels (for up to two months after planting) the following season. This reduced inoculum and disease progress indicates the potential to use similar methods to aid in CLS management.