VIEW ARTICLE

Disease Control and Pest Management

Effects of Stem Injections with Peronospora tabacina on Growth of Tobacco and Protection Against Blue Mold in the Field. S. Tuzun, Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546; W. Nesmith(2), R. S. Ferriss(3), and J. Kuć (4). (2)(3)(4)Department of Plant Pathology, University of Kentucky, Lexington 40546. Phytopathology 76:938-941. Accepted for publication 10 April 1986. Copyright 1986 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/Phyto-76-938.

The effects of stem injections with Peronospora tabacina on growth of tobacco and susceptibility to blue mold were investigated in eight field experiments in Kentucky and three in Puerto Rico during 1983, 1984, and 1985. Burley tobacco was used in Kentucky; cigar tobacco and burley tobacco were used in Puerto Rico. Metalaxyl-treated plants were used as a positive control in some experiments, and untreated plants served as negative controls in all experiments. Plants receiving stem injections had significantly greater height and fresh weight than control plants unless black shank was present or injections were made at very early stages of plant growth. Marketable yield was increased by up to 25% over the controls at Kentucky locations. Stem injections significantly decreased the severity of blue mold in the six experiments where the disease was observed.