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Ecology and Epidemiology

Cercospora apii Damage of Celery—Effects of Plant Spacing and Growth on Raised Beds. J. O. Strandberg, Associate Plant Pathologist, University of Florida, Agricultural Research and Education Center, Sanford, FL 32771; J. M. White, Assistant Horticulturist, University of Florida, Agricultural Research and Education Center, Sanford, FL 32771. Phytopathology 68:223-226. Accepted for publication 26 July 1977. Copyright © 1978 The American Phytopathological Society, 3340 Pilot Knob Road, St. Paul, MN 55121. All rights reserved.. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-68-223.

Damage caused by Cercospora apii on leaves and petioles of celery (Apium graveolens var. dulce) was measured on plants grown at different plant spacings on both flat soil and on raised beds under conditions that simulated those in commercial production. Infection rates of Cercospora apii were not affected either by plant spacing or by growth on raised beds. In celery plots that received weekly fungicide applications (which were necessary for commercially acceptable disease control) average infection rates (r) ranged from –0.13 to –0.15 throughout the fall season, and 0.17 to 0.23 in the spring season. Hours of leaf wetness and disease damage measured as percent leaf area infected or as numbers of diseased petioles per plant requiring removal at harvest time did not differ significantly among plant-spacing or bed-height treatments, nor did yields or stalk weights vary significantly among comparable plant populations.