Web application and smartphone-supported disease management in strawberry fields

Abstract

Botrytis cinerea and Monilinia fructicola, the causal agents of gray mold and brown rot diseases, are one of the most important plant-pathogenic fungi affecting strawberry and peach, respectively. During the last decade, control of both diseases in the southeastern United States has largely been dependent on the use of at-risk fungicides with single-site modes of action. The appearance of gray mold and brown rot, despite applications of fungicides, have been reported by strawberry and peach growers in several states, especially during highly favorable conditions, enhancing concerns about the presence of fungicide-resistant isolates of B. cinerea and M. fructicola in the region. A regional resistance-monitoring program was implemented to help growers determine location-specific resistance profiles. They were originally used to serve South Carolina and Georgia growers, but the service soon became so popular among specialists and growers that, in 2014, growers from 10 states, including Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Georgia, Arkansas, and Connecticut used the service. The service provides precise information that has not been available before and enables producers to adjust spray programs before fungicide resistance causes crop loss.