Trunk applications of phosphite for the control of foliar and fruit scab on pecan

Abstract

Pecan scab (Fusicladium effusum) is the major disease of pecan in the southeastern United States. Apart from issues of fungicide resistance and the need to test efficacy of novel fungicides such as phosphites, management of the disease in tall trees is challenging due to the technical difficulties of getting sufficient spray coverage to the upper parts of the canopy. The use of trunk application of phosphite, which is systemically transported within the tree, was investigated in six separate experiments in 2010 and 2011. Spray application of phosphite to the trunks of young 3 to 4 year-old trees provided excellent control of scab on foliage of cultivar Desirable, but slightly less control on the susceptible cultivar Wichita, but neither incidence nor severity of scab was reduced on 11 to 12 year-old trees of cultivar Desirable by trunk-spray application in 2010, although slightly less severe disease was observed in 2011. In two factorial cultivar × fungicide treatment experiments in 2010 and 2011 using 13 to 14 year-old trees there was little effect of trunk applications on scab incidence or severity on foliage or fruit. However foliar application of phosphite and a conventional fungicide both significantly reduced the incidence and severity of scab on most cultivars on both foliage and fruit, confirming previous observations of the efficacy of these foliar sprays. Different methods of trunk application, for example injections of phosphite, might prove more efficacious than surface application in older trees.