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Funded Project

Funding Program: Regional IPM Competitive Grants - Northeastern

Project Title: Quantifying Infection Probability to Improve Integrated Management of Apple Scab

Project Director (PD): Don Aylor [1]

Lead State: CT Lead Organization: Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station

Research Funding: $90,175

Start Date: Sep-01-1997 End Date: Aug-31-2000

Site/Commodity: apple

Area of Emphasis: scouting, cultural control

Summary: This research will contribute to IPM in the Northeast by helping to integrate practices which reduce inoculum, such as sanitation and mulch-mowing, into scab management programs, and by developing models to predict occurrence and abundance of scab for the purpose of making sound decisions about fungicide use. This work is complementary to other projects in the Northeast, and the model framework will be developed to readily accommodate information on degree of susceptibility to scab of various apple cultivars. Objectives: The objective of this project is to help develop strategies that will reduce the use of chemical pesticides in the control of apple scab. I will develop a model for making quantitative estimates of the probability of scab infection from inoculum originating both inside and outside an orchard. The research will focus on the aerial dispersal of ascospores of Ventura inaequalis (Cke.) G. Wint. As part of this project, I will: 1) quantify the role of ground cover in reducing the airborne fraction of potential inoculum dose, especially late in the primary scab season. 2) develop a quantitative relationship between aerial concentration of ascospores in an orchard and the probability of scab infection, and 3) develop a mathematical model to integrate these findings into a set of decision rules for defining risk of scab infection. Outcomes and Impacts Summary from 2001 IPM Center report Effective apple scab control depends on growers' ability to accurately predict the likelihood of new infections on leaves and fruit. New infections can occur only if enough disease spores are present when weather conditions are conducive to spread of the disease. Donald Aylor has developed a model that estimates the probability of scab infection by focusing on the aerial dispersal of the spores that allow apple scab to spread. This information will help growers use IPM practices like mulch-mowing that reduce the source of apple scab inoculum, minimizing the need for pesticide sprays and potentially saving growers up to $3.5 million annually. It will also enhance growers' ability to take advantage of the variable susceptibility of different apple varieties to this disease.

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