Managing Foliar Diseases

The attached 4 page fact sheet (pdf 204 kb) summarises the information you’ll need to get started on the sustainable management of some difficult foliar threats to your crops. 

Downy & Powdery Mildew, White Blister and protection options and grower experience are discussed. A selection of on-line resources is also provided.

Key Points :

Many growers have found that a useful starting point is to work with a trusted and experienced consultant or researcher.

Good management will be assisted by:
  • A commitment to farm sanitation
  • Monitoring of weather conditions
  • Knowledge of relevant disease prediction models
  • Awareness of resistant varieties and appropriate crop rotations
  • The ability to detect early symptoms on your crops

Many growers have implemented this Integrated Crop Protection (ICP) approach and achieved success in the management of these pests.

• Check the fact sheet :   Crop Protection Basics
  
  
• Use resistant or tolerant varieties
  
  
• Use clean transplants
  
  
• Implement high-level site hygiene
  
  
• Understand the influence of plant spacing and air circulation
  
  
• Understand the implications of free moisture and the effect of irrigation timing
  
  
• Understand the influence of planting time and overlapping crops
  
  
• Monitor crops regularly and use predictive models
  
  
• Understand fungicide resistance and rotation of chemical groups
  

While there are no biological organisms that have proved reliable in the control of these foliar pathogens, reduced crop damage and on-farm costs have been widely achieved with strategies that consider weather, irrigation timing, plant varieties and spacing.

See Also :

Managing Sucking Pests

Managing Chewing Insects

Managing Soilborne Diseases