EFFECT OF SOME PHYSIOLOGICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS ON WHITE MOLD OF CUCUMBER CAUSED ~Y Sc!erotinia sclerotlorum AND ITS CONTROL BY SOME BIOAGENTS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

Plant Pathology Research Institute, ARC, Giza Egypt

Abstract

Physiological and environmental factors have the most important effect on
cucumber white mold development. The disease increased with increasing scterotial
number in soil. The best method for artificial infection with the pathogen was adding
sclerotia to the soil followed by sclerotia + mycelia. but rotled plant wastes caused low
infection. Disease incidence was not affected by soil type. Sclerotial inoculation of the
pathogen two weeks before planting caused more infected plants than the inoculation
at the same time of planting. More apothecia were produced in pots with sclerotia
placed at 0-3 cm than those buried deeper.
Moreover, using T. harzianum at all tested rates highly reduced mycelial
growth and scierotial formation followed by Bacillus spp. No 2 and No 1 at the rate
100%. The commercial bioagent Rizo-N (3 gIL) was the best bioagent preparation
followed by Plant-Guard at the same rate.

Keywords