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Effects of Cover Crop Residue and Preplant Herbicide on Early Leaf Spot of Peanut

Epidemics of early leaf spot, caused by Cercospora arachidicola, of peanut (Arachis hypogaea) are delayed in strip-tilled compared to conventionally tilled fields. This effect may be due to applications of glyphosate used to kill the winter cover crop in strip-tilled fields and/or the presence of cover crop residue at the soil surface of strip-tilled fields. Preplant herbicide (no herbicide, glyphosate, and paraquat), reciprocal residue (plus residue in conventionally tilled plots and minus residue in strip-tilled plots), and added straw mulch were evaluated to determine their effects on early leaf spot epidemics (AUDPC based on incidence and severity, and final percent defoliation) in conventionally tilled and strip-tilled plots. Additional experiments were conducted to characterize the effects of mulch (straw, fumigated straw, and plastic straw [Textraw]) treatments on disease, and to study tillage effects on disease in nonrotated peanut fields. Glyphosate and paraquat had no effect on AUDPC values or defoliation. The addition of straw to conventionally tilled plots significantly reduced disease levels. Cover crop and straw treatments had no significant effect on disease in the strip-tilled plots. AUDPC values were highest in the bare soil plots, lowest in the straw and fumigated straw plots, and intermediate in the plots with Textraw. Fewer initial infections were detected in the Textraw plots compared to the bare soil plots based on results of a trap leaf experiment. Strip-tillage did not consistently suppress early leaf spot epidemics in nonrotated fields. These results show that the presence of cover crop residue is partly responsible for the early leaf spot suppression observed in strip-tilled fields. Cover crop residue may interfere with the dispersal of primary inoculum from overwintering stroma in the soil to the plant tissues.