White Mold In Peanut

Aug 11, 2015

I’m seeing a fair amount of white mold in the county. With the weather conditions we are currently seeing; wet, humid, and hot temperatures, this should be expected. Before white mold becomes a major problem we need to get ahead of it.

Via Bob Kemerait: What to do to increase control?

1. REMEMBER: In a season like this, the perfect storm of a season, even our BEST fungicide programs for white mold may only provide ~70% control. No program will stop all initial “hits” of white mold where a plant here, there and across the field wilts. BUT a fungicide program MUST prevent the disease from spreading from that plant to other plants within the row and down the row.

2. Spraying the peanut field at night or in the darkness of early morning when the leaves are folded is a GREAT way to get the fungicide where it needs to be (the crown of the plant).

3. Consider using a more aggressive fungicide. For example, Tebuconazole/Bravo is good but not the best. If problems are developing, he may shift to a more effective (an more expensive) program.

4. Consider extending the white mold schedule. Even if the grower has completed a “traditional” white mold program, he may extend the program, perhaps using the Tebuconazole/Bravo program mentioned above.

5. Use anticipated rain events and irrigation to move the fungicide to the limbs and to the crown of the plant.

Source: uga.edu

Video: LALEXPERT: Sclerotinia cycle and prophylactic methods

White rot, also known as sclerotinia, is a common agricultural fungal disease caused by various virulent species of Sclerotinia. It initially affects the root system (mycelium) before spreading to the aerial parts through the dissemination of spores.

Sclerotinia is undoubtedly a disease of major economic importance, and very damaging in the event of a heavy attack.

All these attacks come from the primary inoculum stored in the soil: sclerotia. These forms of resistance can survive in the soil for over 10 years, maintaining constant contamination of susceptible host crops, causing symptoms on the crop and replenishing the soil inoculum with new sclerotia.