Glasshouse Experiments on Biocontrol of Cucumber Powdery Mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea) by the MycoparasitesVerticillium lecaniiandSporothrix rugulosa

Abstract

Two potential biological control agents of cucumber powdery mildew (Sphaerotheca fuliginea),Verticillium lecaniiandSporothrix rugulosa,were tested under glasshouse conditions. Two experiments were carried out. In the first experiment, two cucumber varieties with different levels of resistance, cv Corona (susceptible) and cv Flamingo (partially resistant), were used.Verticillium lecaniicontrolled the mildew better thanS. rugulosa.On cv Flamingo,V. lecaniicould keep the mildew severity below 15% infected leaf area for 9 weeks after inoculation withS. fuliginea.Treatment by Hora Oleo 11E, alone or as an additive toV. lecanii,was as good as a fungicide treatment. In the second experiment, weekly and biweekly treatments withV. lecaniiwere compared on cv Flamingo. Weekly treatments withV. lecaniikept mildew severity at a level below 20% infected leaf area during 10 weeks after inoculation withS. fuliginea.If applied to a partially resistant cucumber cultivar,V. lecaniiis an effective candidate for biological control ofS. fuliginea.