Popular fungicides failing, may cause hard choices for apple growers

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/research/2011/110712BeckermanScab.html

Popular fungicides failing, may cause hard choices for apple growers

July 12, 2011

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Orchard growers have started finding that some of the most commonly used fungicides are no longer effective at controlling apple scab, according to a Purdue University study.

Janna Beckerman, an associate professor of botany and plant pathology, said that extensive, long-term use of four popular fungicides has led to resistances in apples in Indiana and Michigan, the focus of her study.

"The fungicides that are regularly used to control scab have started to fail," said Beckerman, whose findings were published in the early online version of the journal Plant Disease. "But the most disturbing thing we found is that many of the samples we tested were resistant to all four fungicides. It's kind of like multidrug resistance in antibiotics. This is full-blown resistance."

Apple scab, caused by the fungus Venturia inaequalis, is highly destructive to apples, causing brown lesions on leaves and fruit. A single lesion can reduce an apple's value by 85 percent. Over time, the scabby lesion will crack and allow insects, other fungi and bacteria inside, causing a loss of the crop.

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[phantom power]

1. Charles Darwin says Hi!

:hi:

[Hydra]

2. Yes, he does

Miracle chemicals failing...after they probably killed or wrecked the lives of millions.

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Meanwhile…

Artificially high crop yields will collapse…

[Hydra]

4. It's not optional

And there ARE alternatives, which we'll have to work on using.

Funny how that works- we can do the bad thing for only so long before reality forces us to do it the better way...I think there is a "God" after all.

[SpiralHawk]

5. Hey, Chuck. You were right again.

Odd there was no mention of this evolution thingy in the Bible. Must look into that...