• Research in Plant Disease
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.51-56
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• 2008

Powdery mildew of lettuce that is a newly reported disease became a threat to organic cultivation of lettuce in Korea since the disease caused by Podosphaera fusca resulted in a half of yield loss in heavily infected fields. To improve micro-environmental conditions around lettuce, ACF (air-circulation fan) was installed on inside roof of plastic house at 6 m intervals. The ACF increased 57% of lettuce yield and reduced 71.4% of lettuce seedling death. COY (cooking oil and yolk mixture) consisted of cooking oil 0.3% and egg yolk 0.08% reduced lettuce seedling death from 89.3% to 92.9% under the greenhouse. Seven-day interval spray of COY resulted in high control values of powdery mildew of lettuce ranging from 89.6% to 96.3%, which was comparable to a fungicide, Azoxystrobin. Lettuce yield was increased about two times compared to a non-treated conventional cultivation. Qualities of lettuce such as hardness and chlorophyll content were also improved by COY and ACF combination. Effect of COY on control of the disease was improved when $CaCO_3$ or $SiO_2$ 1,000 ppm was supplemented. Results indicated that the COY made of cooking oil such as canola emulsified with yolk was highly effective on control of powdery mildew of lettuce and suitable for organic agriculture, especially when combined with ACF.