VIEW ARTICLE

Ecology and Epidemiology

Influence of Temperature and Rainfall on the Development of Tobacco Black Shank. W. R. Jacobi, Research associate, Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27650, Present address of the senior author: Department of Botany and Plant Pathology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins 80523; C. E. Main(2), and N. T. Powell(3). (2)(3)Professors, Department of Plant Pathology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh 27650. Phytopathology 73:139-143. Accepted for publication 16 June 1982. Copyright 1983 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-73-139.

The incidence of tobacco black shank, which is induced by Phytophthora parasitica var. nicotianae, increased rapidly 6- 8 wk after transplanting in North Carolina. Precipitation, daily air temperature, and number of drought days were associated with rapid disease progression after 6- 8 wk in resistant and moderately resistant cultivars and prior to 6- 8 wk in susceptible cultivars. No single meteorological parameter was found to influence disease progression more than any other. Models relating meteorological variables to disease progression explained 61- 78% of the disease progression variation and can be useful to predict conditions favorable for black shank development.