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Pre- and Post-Infection Activity of Pyraclostrobin for Control of Anthracnose Fruit Rot of Strawberry Caused by Colletotrichum acutatum

The effect of pre- and post-infection-period applications of pyraclostrobin (Cabrio EG) on the development of anthracnose fruit rot was characterized in a controlled-climate study and validated in field studies in New York and Florida. Plants of the day-neutral cv. Tristar were inoculated with C. acutatum and placed into mist chambers at 14, 22, or 30°C. The plants were removed from the chambers after 3, 6, 12, or 24 h of misting and placed on greenhouse benches to allow disease development. The fungicide pyraclostrobin was applied to the berries at a concentration equivalent to 168 g a.i./ha at 3, 8, 24, and 48 h prior to inoculation and exposure to their wetting period, or 3, 8, 24, and 48 h following inoculation and exposure to their wetting period. All pyraclostrobin treatments suppressed disease compared with the corresponding untreated control treatments. The highest incidence of disease occurred on plants exposed to the longest wetness durations (12 and 24 h) or highest temperature treatments (22 and 30°C). Post-infection applications of pyraclostrobin provided significant control when applications were made within 3 and often up to 8 h after wetting, but generally were less effective than protective sprays. We further tested the ability of pyraclostrobin to control anthracnose when applied as a protectant or as an after-infection application in inoculated field plots exposed to a short (8 h) or long (24 h) wetting period in Florida and in New York. In three of the four experimental plots, disease control equivalent to or better than the protective spray was achieved when pyraclostrobin was applied up to 24 h after infection for long and short wetting periods. In the remaining plot, conditions for disease development were exceptionally favorable. The protective treatment provided approximately 75% control, whereas the best post-infection treatment provided only 50% control. Our study indicates that for short wetting events, such as those associated with seasonal thunderstorms, growers can wait until after such an infection event before applying pyraclos-trobin and achieve control equivalent to a protective application.