Chemical Management Strategies for Halo Blight of Hop and In Vitro Sensitivity of Diaporthe humulicola Populations to Various Fungicide Classes.

Abstract

Halo blight of hop, caused by Diaporthe humulicola, has increased in eastern North America since 2018. When left untreated, the disease can cause yield loss ranging from 17 to 56%. Currently, there are no fungicides registered for use on halo blight of hop. From 2020 to 2022, field trials were conducted using 10 fungicides registered for use on powdery and downy mildew of hop to determine their efficacy against halo blight. To validate field results, the effective concentration of fungicide required for 50% growth inhibition (EC₅₀) value was determined for each active ingredient including flutriafol, tebuconazole + fluopyram, cyflufenamid, and trifloxystrobin + salicylhydroxamic acid (SHAM). Each fungicide tested had an EC₅₀ value less than 50 ppm. A discriminatory dose was used to test the sensitivity of 206 D. humulicola isolates collected from the eastern United States and Canada in a poison agar assay. Results showed that tebuconazole + fluopyram decreased the incidence and severity of halo blight in the field. Also, this fungicide combination had EC₅₀ values of 2.26 × 10^-1 ppm and significantly reduced the growth of most of the isolates tested. Trifloxystrobin + SHAM decreased the presence of halo blight in the field trial, but some isolates were less sensitive in discriminatory dose testing. Our results show that fungicides in FRAC groups 3, 7, and 11 were the most effective to control halo blight. Analyses of field trials showed a positive correlation between the severity of early-season downy mildew infections and late-season halo blight infections.