PEST MANAGEMENT: DISEASES

Effectiveness of New Foliar Fungicides to Control Sheath Blight of Rice

C.E. Parsons, J.C. Robinson, J.A. Yingling, and R.D. Cartwright ABSTRACT Public evaluation of new foliar fungicides to control sheath blight [Rhizoctonia solani (Kuhn)], the most important U.S. rice disease, remains a high priority for the Division of Agriculture and Arkansas rice growers and consultants. Field trials in 2008 and 2009, conducted in the Grand Prairie rice-growing region of the state, showed that a newly formulated mixture of azoxystrobin and propiconazole called Quilt Xcel was highly effective in controlling sheath blight and protecting rice yield and milling quality. This new formulation appears to be a better fit for growers of highly susceptible long-grain semidwarf rice cultivars in the state than the older product, Quilt. Serenade and Ballad Plus biofungicides were not effective, and fluoxastrobin showed inconsistent results and probably needs further rate range studies in rice. INTRODUCTION Sheath blight is the most important disease in southern U.S. rice production (Cartwright et al., 2004) and is the primary reason that foliar fungicides are used in rice in the U.S. Since the initial registration of azoxystrobin fungicide for rice in the United States in 1997, total rice acreage treated in Arkansas with fungicides has risen from 10% to more than 80% (confidential industry estimates, personal communications). The use of fungicides in rice based on IPM decision-making systems appears to have decreased during that time, with the majority of rice fungicide applications now made preventively based on growth stage of the crop. All modern rice cultivars and hybrids are considered somewhat susceptible under conditions favorable for sheath blight development, however long-grain, semidwarf 69

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rice cultivars are considered most susceptible in commercial fields. These cultivars are routinely treated about 7 to 14 days past panicle differentiation to minimize damage, although other timings may be used based on other conditions (Groth, 2005; Groth and Bond, 2006). The increased use of foliar fungicides in U.S. rice and increasing interest in fungicides for soybeans, corn, and wheat has maintained continued development and testing of new or reformulated fungicides for southern field crops. In recent years, biopesticides for disease control have been increasing, likely due to increasing interest in organic, sustainable, or other more natural production systems, as well as less stringent and less expensive registration requirements compared to traditional chemical fungicides. Most rice growers, consultants and other workers in the field believe that all crop protection products need unbiased field testing by public universities and extension agencies under conditions typical of modern rice production in the south in order to determine the unbiased value of registered products; to best utilize the products under different conditions; and to help encourage registration of those with the most potential. The objective of these studies was to determine the field efficacy of selected new foliar fungicides for control of sheath blight and for protection of yield and milling quality of rice under typical high yield growing conditions in Arkansas. PROCEDURES Availability of seed determined cultivar use, with CL 161 planted in 2008 and CL 131 in 2009. Both were semidwarf long-grain rice cultivars rated very susceptible to sheath blight disease. Cultivars were planted in a designated test area of a typical rice production field each year in Lonoke County, part of the Grand Prairie rice-production region of the state, and plot residue was rolled after harvest to prevent movement of residual treated grain and foliage. Plots were planted on 22 April in 2008, and 25 April in 2009. In both years, planted plots were 7 row (7-in. spacing) 25 ft long with a seeding rate of 100 lb/acre, planted at 0.5-in. depth in a conventional Dewitt silt loam soil seedbed, using a Hege plot drill. After emergence, plots were trimmed to approximately 20-ft length using a specialized alley maker that applied glyphosate herbicide to rice in the alleys for uniform kill. Irrigation, weed and insect control were performed by the experimental site manager following University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension Service guidelines. Plots received 180 lb/acre N (as urea) in 2008 as a 3-way split (110-35-35) and 200 lb/acre N (as urea) as a 3-way split (120-45-35) in 2009. These rates were considered excessive according to extension recommendations, but total rates were typical of the region for many growers, and were used to encourage uniform disease development. All plots were inoculated with 200 ml floating calcium alginate beads containing hyphal pieces of Rhizoctonia solani AG1-1A isolate RS 407 at panicle initiation by hand sprinkling between the center plot rows on 20 June in 2008 and on 19 June in 2009. Preventative fungicide treatments were applied on 14 July in 2008 and 8 July in 2009,

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7 to 10 days after panicle differentiation, allowing initial infection but before noticeable vertical sheath blight development. Treatments were arranged in a randomized complete block design with four replications and applied using a compressed air, self-propelled plot sprayer calibrated to deliver 10 gpa volume using flat fan spray tips. Plots were visually evaluated 28 days after fungicide application in both years, and vertical progress of disease rated using a 0 to 9 rating scale where 0 = no symptoms and 9 = 90% or more of the plot canopy height having symptoms. Plots were harvested with a small plot combine at grain maturity on 15 Sept. in 2008 and 25 Sept. in 2009. Other diseases were minimal and no phytotoxicity was noted for any of the tested products. Harvested grain was weighed and yield converted to bu/acre at 12% grain moisture. Subsamples were processed by Riceland Foods (Stuttgart, Ark.) to obtain head and total milled rice values using GIPSA procedures. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION In both years, a new formulation of azoxystrobin + propiconazole, now registered as Quilt Xcel, consistently controlled sheath blight and resulted in significantly higher yield than untreated plots (Tables 1 and 2). Plots treated with 17.5 or 21 fl oz/acre of the formulated product reduced sheath blight severity 20 to 48% (Tables 1 and 2) and had up to 58 bu/acre higher yield in the 2009 test (Table 2). Also in 2009, treated plots had 3% higher head rice compared to the untreated plots (Table 2). Efficacy of this new product to control sheath blight in our studies was comparable to the commercial standard treatment Stratego (Tables 1 and 2) and in other trials was equivalent to Quadris (data not shown). Because Quilt Xcel contains more azoxystrobin per fl oz than Quilt fungicide, it may offer a better fit for growers planting highly susceptible Clearfield semidwarf long-grain cultivars now widely grown in Arkansas. Other products tested were not as effective or consistent for control of sheath blight when compared to the fungicide standard, azoxystrobin, and did not always result in higher yields or milling quality when compared to untreated plots (Tables 3 and 4). For example, the biofungicides Serenade (Tables 3 and 4) and Ballad Plus (data not shown) did not control sheath blight under our test conditions or protect yield and quality. When mixed with azoxystrobin or azoxystrobin + propiconazole, we did not observe any additional efficacy compared to using azoxystrobin alone (Tables 3 and 4). Fluoxastrobin, a strobilurin fungicide registered for use on other crops as Evito, was less effective in controlling sheath blight than Quilt Xcel or Stratego (Table 2), but did result in significant yield protection compared to untreated plots in 2009 (Table 2). Given these results, it seems likely that the most effective rate for use of fluoxatrobin in rice has not been determined and additional rate range testing is warranted. SIGNIFICANCE OF FINDINGS Given the variability of environmental conditions and rice management practices in Arkansas, it remains clear that with respect to foliar fungicides, there is no one 71

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answer for effective and economical use. Information developed by this type of objective field testing offers the best assurance that growers will understand when to use these products and that the products fulfill expectations for disease control and protection of rice yield and quality. With the advent of Quadris fungicide in 1997, the use of foliar fungicides to control sheath blight and protect rice yields in the southern U.S. has become a mainstay of applied disease management for rice growers, and their impact has probably been underestimated with regard to increased yields and production stability over the past decade. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors deeply appreciate the financial support provided by the Arkansas Rice Research and Promotion Board; assistance of Robert Moery in Lonoke County; and the rice quality lab at Riceland Foods in Stuttgart for milling quality analysis. We also appreciate donations of products tested by Syngenta, Arysta, Bayer CropScience, and AgraQuest companies. LITERATURE CITED Cartwright, R.D., K.B. Watkins, C.E. Parsons, E.A. Sutton, J. Allen, and C.E. Wilson. 2004. Effect of preventative fungicide application on rice yield, milling quality and return. In: R.J. Norman, J.-F. Meullenet, and K.A.K. Moldenhauer (eds.). B.R. Wells Rice Research Studies 2004. University of Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station Research Series 529:75-85. Fayetteville, Ark. Groth, D.E. 2005. Azoxystrobin rate and timing effects on rice sheath blight incidence and severity and rice grain and milling yields. Plant Disease 89:1171-1174. Groth, D.E. and J.A. Bond. 2006. Initiation of rice sheath blight epidemics and effect of application timing of azoxystrobin on disease incidence, severity, yield, and milling quality. Plant Disease 90:1073-1076.

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Table 1. Effect of Quilt Xcel and fluoxastrobin on sheath blight and yield of CL 161 rice, 2008. Treatment Form Rate SHBz Yield (fl oz/acre) (0 to 9) 6.5 6.2 6.5 5.8 4.5 6.2 0.8 (bu/acre) 147 145 150 149 152 147 NS Untreated Fluoxastrobin 480SC 3.0 Fluoxastrobin 480SC 4.0 Fluoxastrobin 480SC 5.7 Quilt Xcel 264SC 21.0 Stratego 250EC 19.0 LSD (P = 0.05)
z

Head rice 62.8 62.8 61.5 62.5 62.5 61.3 NS

Total milled 68.8 68.3 68.5 68.5 68.0 68.0 NS

---------- (%)---------

Sheath blight severity where 0 = no disease and 9 = symptoms on 90% or more of canopy height.

Table 2. Effect of Quilt Xcel and fluoxastrobin on sheath blight and yield of CL 131 rice, 2009. Treatment Form Rate SHBz Yield (fl oz/acre) (0 to 9) 8.4 8.6 8.2 8.1 5.9 3.6 5.1 1.3 (bu/acre) 138 173 166 171 194 196 185 20 Untreated Fluoxastrobin 480 SC 3 Fluoxastrobin 480 SC 4 Fluoxastrobin 480 SC 5.7 Quilt Xcel 264 SC 17.5 Quilt Xcel 264 SC 21 Stratego 250 SC 19 LSD (P = 0.05)
z

Head rice 59.5 61.5 61.3 61.2 61.4 63.0 64.0 3.1

Total milled 65.0 67.0 66.8 66.4 66.4 68.0 69.0 2.5

---------- (%)---------

Sheath blight severity where 0 = no disease and 9 = symptoms on 90% or more of canopy height.

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Table 3. Effect of Serenade biofungicide on sheath blight and yield of CL 161 rice, 2008. Head rice ------------ (%)----------66.8 66.8 66.6 67.0 67.5 66.8 66.3 67.0 NS NS 69.5 69.5 69.3 69.3 70.0 70.0 69.3 70.0 Total milled

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(fl oz/acre) 7.3 7.2 7.8 5.9 6.2 5.0 4.6 4.3 0.9 7.6 139 136 133 141 145 151 153 168 (0 to 9) (bu/acre)

Treatment Form Rate SHBz Yield

Untreated check Serenade ASO 1.34% w/v 32 Serenade ASO 1.34% w/v 64 Serenade ASO + Quadris 1.34% w/v + 250 SC 32 + 4 Serenade ASO + Quadris 1.34% w/v + 250 SC 64 + 4 Serenade ASO + Quadris 1.34% w/v + 250 SC 32 Quadris 250 SC 8.5 Quadris 250 SC 12

LSD (P = 0.05)

Sheath blight severity where 0 = no disease and 9 = symptoms on 90% or more of canopy height.

AAES Research Series 581

Table 4. Effect of Serenade biofungicide on sheath blight and yield of CL 131 rice, 2009. Head rice Lodgingy 77.5 96.3 55.0 33.8 40.0 5.0 0.0 36.3 0.0 37.5 3.2 39.5 - -------------------(%)------------------55.5 56.5 55.0 57.0 58.8 61.3 62.0 60.5 61.8 59.0 4.2 64.0 65.5 64.0 64.3 65.8 67.8 68.8 67.3 67.8 66.3 Total milled

Treatment Form. Rate SHBz Yield 8.2 8.5 8.5 8.2 8.1 7.7 7.2 7.5 6.2 7.4 0.8 16 121 122 114 142 148 165 172 153 188 152 (fl oz/acre) (0 to 9) (bu/acre)

Untreated Serenade ASO 1.34% w/v 16 Serenade ASO 1.34% w/v 32 Serenade ASO + Quilt 1.34% w/v + 200 SC 16 + 21 Serenade ASO + Quilt 1.34% w/v + 200 SC 32 + 21 Serenade ASO + Quadris 1.34% w/v + 250 SC 16 + 9.2 Serenade ASO + Quadris 1.34% w/v + 250 SC 32 + 9.2 Quilt 200 SC 21 Quadris 250 SC 12 Quadris 250 SC 9.2

B.R. Wells Rice Research Studies 2009

LSD (P = 0.05)

Sheath blight severity where 0 = no disease and 9 = symptoms on 90% or more of canopy height. y Lodging noted as percent of plot fully lodged.

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