Managing early leaf spot and stem rot with reduced fungicide inputs on disease-resistant peanut cultivars

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Abstract Fungicide inputs are a costly but critical component of peanut production systems in the southeast U.S. Current strategies for reducing fungicide application numbers that are needed to control diseases on peanut include extending application intervals beyond a 2-wk schedule or implementation of a fungicide advisory, such as AU-Pnuts. In this study, fungicide programs with azoxystrobin, chlorothalonil, and tebuconazole, using different application schedules, were compared for the control of early leaf spot and stem rot. Application schedules were the standard 2-wk calendar interval, extended 3- and 4-wk intervals, and applications were made according to the AU-Pnuts leaf spot advisory. Studies were conducted on the disease resistant cultivars DP-1 in 2003 and C-99R in 2004 and 2005. The numbers of fungicide applications for the 2, 3, and 4-wk schedules were 7, 5, and 4, respectively, in 2003 and 2004, and were 6, 5, and 4, respectively, in 2005. One less fungicide application was scheduled according to AU-Pnuts than with the 2-wk calendar schedule in all three years, yet final early leaf spot levels with these schedules were similar in 2 of 3 years. With one fewer fungicide application, the 3-wk schedule had higher leaf spot levels than the AU-Pnuts advisory in 2003 and 2004. Further, when application intervals were extended from 2 wk to 3 or 4-wk intervals, a significant increase in early leaf spot was noted in two of three years. Despite these differences in early leaf spot severity, application schedule had limited impact on yield in this study. Application interval also had little impact on stem rot incidence, but incidence of this disease was lower with the azoxystrobin than chlorothalonil programs in 2 of 3 years. The azoxystrobin program significantly increased yield in 2 of 3 years compared with the chlorothalonil or tebuconazole programs. Yield was also higher for the tebuconazole compared with chlorothalonil programs in 2 of 3 years. When fungicide product and application costs were calculated, and those and other typical peanut production costs were deducted from estimated returns based on actual yields, the resulting net returns did not significantly differ among fungicide programs or application schedules.