Evaluation of Fungicides to Control Root Diseases at the Champion Timberlands Nursery, Plains, Montana
Metalaxyl, Banrot, captan, and benomyl were evaluated to reduce mortality of lodgepole pine, ponderosa pine, and Douglas-fir seedlings due to damping-off and root diseases at the Champion Timberlands Nursery. Fungicides were applied as drenches before sowing and after seedling emergence. Seedling mortality and soil populations of Fusarium and Pythium were measured. Metalaxyl was the most effective fungicide in improving seedling survival. All fungicides initially reduced population levels of Fusarium and Pythium in the soil: however, levels increased in presence of susceptible conifer seedlings throughout the first growing season. Soil fungicides should only be used if the need to control damping-off and root diseases has been clearly demonstrated and other more effective measures cannot be done.
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Author(s): USDA Forest Service