Effects of Temperature and Moisture on Sporulation and Infection by Pseudoperonospora cubensis

Abstract

Cucumber downy mildew, caused by Pseudoperonospora cubensis, is a worldwide disease that causes severe damage to cucumber production. The effects of temperature and moisture on sporulation and infection by P. cubensis were investigated by inoculating cucumber ('85F12') cotyledons with sporangia and examining the sporangia produced on the inoculated cotyledons under artificially controlled environments. The result showed that the temperature required for sporangium infection by P. cubensis and sporulation of the downy mildew lesions occurred at 5 to 30°C. The optimal temperature estimated by the fitted model was 18.8°C for sporangium infection and 16.2°C for downy mildew lesion sporulation. The pathogen formed plenty of sporangia when disease cotyledons were wetted or in the environment with relative humidity = 100%. The downy mildew lesions produced only a few sporangia when placed in the environment with relative humidity = 90%. The inoculated cotyledons, which incubated for 5 days at about 20°C in a dry greenhouse, began to form sporangia 4 h after being wetted when incubated in darkness. The quantity of sporangia produced on the downy mildew lesions increased with extension of incubating period (within 12 h), and the relationship between produced sporangia and the incubation period at 15, 20, and 25°C can be described by three exponential models. The observed minimum wetness durations (MWD) required for sporangia to complete the infection process and cause downy mildew were 12, 4, 2.5, 1, 1, and 6 h for 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30°C, respectively. The effect of temperature and wetness duration on infection by sporangia of P. cubensis can be described by the modified Weibull model. The shortest MWD was 0.45 h, about 27 min, estimated by model. The experimental data and models will be helpful in the development of forecasting models and effective control systems for cucumber downy mildew.