Fluazinam: A New Fungicide for Control of Sclerotinia Blight and Other Soilborne Pathogens of Peanut1

Abstract Fluazinam provided effective control of Sclerotinia blight (Sclerotinia minor Jagger) of peanut in six field trials during a 4-yr period. Applications of fluazinam (0.56 kg/ha) at the onset of Sclerotinia blight and 4 wk later provided an average of 69% suppression of disease incidence and increased yields by 1598 kg/ha compared to untreated plots. Performance of fluazinam was significantly better than iprodione, the material currently used for control of Sclerotinia blight. Two applications of iprodione at 1.12 kg/ha provided only 31% suppression of disease incidence and increased yield by 718 kg/ha. Fungicides were also evaluated in 1990 as tank-mixes with chlorothalonil (1.26 kg/ha) that were applied in foliar sprays according to the Virginia peanut leafspot advisory program. Treatments consisted of no fungicide, chlorothalonil alone, and tank-mixes of chlorothalonil plus either dicloran at 2.10 kg/ha, fluazinam at 0.56 kg/ha, or iprodione at 0.84 kg/ha. Sclerotinia blight at harvest in untreated plots and plots treated with chlorothalonil alone averaged 27.8 and 35.8 disease foci per plot, whereas yields averaged 3624 and 2251 kg/ha, respectively. Compared to plots treated with chlorothalonil alone, Sclerotinia blight was suppressed by 92, 25, and 25%, and yield was increased by 4020, 1925, and 1684 kg/ha in plots treated with chlorothalonil plus either fluazinam, iprodione, or dicloran, respectively. Applications of tank-mixes containing fluazinam plus chlorothalonil in 1991 provided additional evidence that this approach was a highly effective means of controlling both Sclerotinia blight and early leafspot, a previously unattainable goal. Fluazinam did not control early leafspot (Cercospora arachidicola S. Hori) in field trials; however, the fungicide was fungitoxic in vitro to Sclerotium rolfsii Sacc. and Rhizoctonia solani Kühn.