• Journal of Bio-Environment Control
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.413-420
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• 2013

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the control efficacy of major environment-friendly control agents against powdery mildew, as affected by the application condition such as disease-developing stage and microclimate, as compared with the efficacy of pesticides in plug seedling of three Cucurbitaceae vegetables, including cucumber, melon, and oriental melon. Single or combined application of major six environment-friendly control agents was used in the experiment: two biofungicide (Ampelomyces quisqualis 94013 and Bacillus subtilis Y1336), two plant extracts (neem oil and extracts of Rheum undulatum), and two mineral materials (wettable sulfur powder and lime bordeaux mixture). These control agents were treated to the plug seedlings for preventing powdery mildew and curative applications for managing powdery mildew. In all treatments, the disease incidence declined as daily average temperatures increased to $30^{\circ}C$ for consecutive 6~8 days with maximum temperature over $40^{\circ}C$. In preventative application, the control efficacy against powdery mildew was the highest in the treatment of wettable sulfur powder, and lowest in the B. subtilis Y1336, with values of 20~40%. In cucumber seedlings, the preventive single application of neem oil or wettable sulfur powder was more effective than curative application of fungicides, while the control efficacy of these agents was similar to those of fungicides in melon seedlings. The single application of R. undulatum extracts was also effective in preventing the disease for both cucumber and melon seedlings, showing a higher control efficacy than those of biofungicides during seedling stage. The treatment of water spray was not effective and showed a higher disease incidence than the untreated control plot in the oriental melon and melon seedlings. The curative application with environment friendly control agents, after powdery mildew was first detected, could not successfully controlled the disease at the middle stage (5~10% of disease incidence) of disease development. The curative combined application of [R. undulatum extracts (1st application) + wettable sulfur powder (2nd) + neem oil (3rd)] showed the highest control efficacy among the other treatments, with control value over 80% at the early stage (less than 1% of disease incidence) of disease development.