Prospecting for organic fungicides and resistance inducers to control scab (Venturia inaequalis) in organic apple production

Summary

As a part of the REPCO project we are prospecting for plant extracts and other materials to control apple scab in order to find substitutes for copper fungicides in organic apple production. Two routine screening systems are used to evaluate the potential of materials to control apple scab; one testing the effect of materials on conidium germination on glass slides, and one testing the effect of materials on scab development on apple seedlings grown in growth chambers. Several interesting materials have been identified and a number have been selected for testing in experimental organic apple orchards. Studies of the mode of action of promising materials including induced resistance are on-going and work on improvement of timing and formulation is initiated at KVL.