Sensitivity of Phytophthora nicotianae in Tennessee and North Carolina to mefenoxam, oxathiapiprolin, mandipropamid, and fluopicolide

Abstract

Phytophthora nicotianae causes devastating disease in a range of hosts, including tobacco (N. tabacum L.), tomato, citrus, strawberry, and numerous ornamentals. Tobacco black shank, caused by P. nicotianae, is the most economically important disease caused by P. nicotianae in Tennessee and North Carolina. Black shank management includes the use of resistant cultivars, crop rotation, and fungicides. Fungicide resistance is a concern for black shank management due to the limited number of active ingredients available, and the repeated exposure of pathogen populations to these products. In vitro fungicide sensitivity assays were conducted on 155 P. nicotianae isolates collected in Tennessee and North Carolina in 2021 and 2022 to determine their EC50 values for oxathiapiprolin, mandipropamid, and fluopicolide. The P. nicotianae was isolated predominantly from burley, dark, and flue-cured tobacco showing symptoms of black shank as well as tomato with buckeye rot symptoms. A discriminatory dose was used to determine each isolate’s sensitivity to mefenoxam in 2021 and 2022. In 2021, EC50 values were determined for oxathiapiprolin, mandipropamid, and fluopicolide. In 2022, discriminatory doses based on EC75 values were used to determine each isolate’s sensitivity to these fungicides. All isolates from the two years were sensitive to mefenoxam, mandipropamid, and fluopicolide. One isolate in 2022 was moderately sensitive to oxathiapiprolin, while all other isolates were sensitive.