Sensitivity of Rhizoctonia solani AG-2-2 from Sugar Beet to Fungicides

Rhizoctonia damping-off and crown and root rot caused by Rhizoctonia solani are major diseases of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) worldwide, and growers in the United States rely on fungicides for disease management. Sensitivity of R. solani to fungicides was evaluated in vitro using a mycelial radial growth assay and by evaluating disease severity on R. solani AG 2-2 inoculated plants treated with fungicides in the greenhouse. The mean concentration that caused 50% mycelial growth inhibition (EC50) values for baseline isolates (collected before the fungicides were registered for sugar beet) were 49.7, 97.1, 0.3, 0.2, and 0.9 mu g ml(-1) and for nonbaseline isolates (collected after registration and use of fungicides) were 296.1, 341.7, 0.9, 0.2, and 0.6 mu g ml(-1) for azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin, pyraclostrobin, penthiopyrad, and prothioconazole, respectively. The mean EC50 values of azoxystrobin, trifloxystrobin, and pyraclostrobin significantly increased in the nonbaseline isolates compared with baseline isolates, with a resistant factor of 6.0, 3.5, and 3.0, respectively. Frequency of isolates with EC50 values >10 mu g ml(-1) for azoxystrobin and trifloxystrobin increased from 25% in baseline isolates to 80% in nonbaseline isolates. Although sensitivity of nonbaseline isolates of R. solani to quinone outside inhibitors decreased, these fungicides at labeled rates were still effective at controlling the pathogen under greenhouse conditions.