Cucurbit downy mildew is a major threat for pickling cucumber production requiring frequent fungicide applications. Growers desire to time their fungicide applications to coincide with weather conditions that favor disease. Several disease forecasting models were used to time fungicide sprays in 2021 and 2022 and compared to the standard 7-day program. Depending on the threshold and year, the BLITE-CAST and DM-CAST models have the potential to reduce the number of sprays required for effective disease control.
For further reading:
Scheduling Fungicide Applications for Cucurbit Downy Mildew Control on Pickling Cucumber in Michigan using Disease Forecasters
By: Matthew Ray Uebbing, Zachary D. Hayden, and Mary K. Hausbeck.
Published online by APS in Plant Health Progress on October 10, 2023.
DOI: 10.1094/PHP-07-23-0066-RS
