Efecto de la aplicación de un fungicida foliar en el control de la roya marrón de la caña de azúcar en Tucumán, Argentina

FUNES, C.; KAIRUZ, C.R.; BERTANI, R.P.; GONZALEZ, V.; ROMERO, E.; PLOPER, L.D.

Cevil Redondo, Tucumán

Congreso; XVIII Reunión Técnica Nacional de la Caña de Azúcar; 2012

Sociedad Argentina de Técnicos de la Caña de Azúcar

Brown rust, caused by Puccinia melanocephala, can cause moderate to severe epidemics in susceptible sugarcane cultivars during late summer in Tucumán, Argentina. The use of fungicides to manage brown rust and the effect of the disease on yield were evaluated in a field experiment conducted during one growing season. Chemical treatments, which included a fungicide applied at 15-day intervals during different stages of the epidemic, reduced both the area under the disease progress curve (AUDPC) and final brown rust severity levels, as compared with the untreated control. Plots protected by fungicide applications throughout the epidemic provided an estimate of attainable yield for comparison with plants naturally infected with rust. The disease had no effects on sugarcane yield components during 2011. In spite of the significant differences in brown rust severity between the untreated control and the chemical treatments, no differences were detected for cane yield or sugar yield. Although the use of resistant cultivars is the best option for brown rust management, fungicide application may be considered in those cases where resistance is overcome by new variants of the pathogen.