Efficacy of in-furrow fungicides for management of field pea root rot caused by Fusarium avenaceum and F. solani under greenhouse and field conditions

Field pea (Pisum sativum L.) root rot has resulted in substantial yield losses in North Dakota, with symptoms ranging from small lesions to complete root destruction. Traditional management practices such as seed treatment fungicides and crop rotation have proven insufficient under high disease pressure. The objective of this research was to determine the efficacy of infurrow fungicide applications for management of field pea root rot under greenhouse and field conditions. In-furrow fungicides generally reduced root rot severity, sometimes significantly over the seed treatment in the field; however, the level of control varied across hosts and pathogens in both greenhouse and field trials. Prothioconazole, fluopyram, and penthiopyrad provided the most consistent results across trials. The results of these studies indicate that the use of in-furrow fungicides provides growers with another tool for managing Fusarium root rot.