Efficacy of Citrus Postharvest Fungicides Applied in Water or Resin Solution Water Wax. G. Eldon Brown, Florida Department of Citrus, Agricultural Research and Education Center, 700 Experiment Station Road, Lake Alfred 33850. Plant Dis. 68:415-418. Accepted for publication 8 December 1983. Copyright 1984 The American Phytopathological Society. DOI: 10.1094/PD-68-415.

Applications of benomyl, carbendazim, thiabendazole, or imazalil in water or resin solution water wax were compared in nonrecovery spray treatments of oranges for control of stem-end rot (SER) and green mold caused by Diplodia natalensis and Penicillium digitatum, respectively. Control of SER with the benzimidazole fungicides applied in water or wax was comparable until treatments were delayed after harvest by degreening. In such treatments, fungicides in water were more effective, but control with applications in wax was enhanced by doubling the fungicide concentration. Imazalil controlled SER less effectively than the benzimidazoles, particularly when applied in water wax to degreened fruit. Green mold was controlled less effectively with fungicide wax applications than with aqueous treatments when punctures in the rind were so small that the wax, being more viscous than water, did not enter such injuries as effectively as water. Movement of imazalil into healthy rind was hindered when the fungicide was applied in water wax. Imazalil was therefore less effective in wax than water in controlling infections of P. digitatum in injuries formed after fungicide treatment. All fungicides applied either in water or resin solution water wax equally penetrated rind injured abrasively with sandpaper.