Key Points
- Ascochyta can cause significant yield losses in peas. Disease is favoured by environmental conditions that include periods of leaf wetness and drying and temperatures that are less than 23oC
- In trials in New Zealand, fungicides have reduced the incidence of disease on stipules, pods and stems in three years
- The disease pressure in the trials was low and although the incidence of disease was reduced, there were only small increases in yield in two of the three years
- Amistar and Score reduced the severity of Ascochyta blight on the pods, leaflets and stipules of all varieties
- Ascochyta disease management in peas is best achieved by using a combination of cultural control and clean seed. Foliar fungicides may be cost effective under high disease pressure