Key Points:
- Carrot leaf blight is a major foliar disease of carrot seed crops in New Zealand with severity depending on the amount of inoculum, cultivar resistance and environmental conditions.
- In three years of fungicide product trials in Canterbury, Cercospora carotae has been the prominent foliar disease.
- Across all products and three seasons the average yield response to fungicide has been 40% above the untreated control (approx 200 kg/ha) (The females used were classified as susceptible in years one and three and moderately susceptible in year two).
- Consistent performers for the control of C. carotae have been Amistar®, Cannon™, Comet®, Pristine® and Score® (Pristine® is an experimental product only, it is currently illegal to apply Pristine® to carrot seed crops - refer to the Pristine® label).