AA700 - Phenoxy

Cucurbits

Cucurbits are members of the cucurbitaceae family, which includes pumpkin, rockmelon, cucumber (greenslicing, apple, Lebanese and continental), watermelon, honeydew melon, zucchini, button squash and choko.

Diseases in cucurbits are caused by fungi, bacteria, viruses or nutritional imbalances, and may affect crops at any time from sowing to post-harvest. Environmental factors such as temperature, humidity and rainfall affect disease activity and pressure.

Downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) is characterised by small, pale yellow areas on leaves which enlarge to form brown, angular spots, often delineated by the veins. Outbreaks commonly occur in response to cool, overcast and moist conditions when the relative humidity during pre-dawn hours is greater than 95%, with 2 to 6 hours of leaf wetness from overnight temperatures of between 5ºC and 28ºC. The optimum temperature is between 15ºC and 25ºC.

Downy mildew is most severe during showery weather or when heavy dews lead to long periods of leaf wetness.

Application timing

Acrobat SC in combination with Polyram 750DF (mancozeb) or Polyram DF should be applied as a protectant program for the control of downy mildew (Pseudoperonospora cubensis) (Queensland and Northern Territory only), anthracnose (Colletotrichum spp.), gummy stem blight (Didymella bryoniae), alternaria leaf spot (Alternaria spp.), and septoria spot (pumpkin) (Septoria spp.).

This information is also available in the Acrobat SC Technical Manual.

Download pages here.

JOHN CROSS
Consultant, David Grays Aglink

John provides agronomic advice to major fruit and vegetable growers, many of whom have used Acrobat for years on onions in the mid coast region and cucurbits in the state’s north. He, and they, see it as a great strategic fit.

"With a different active to the other products used to treat downy mildew, such as Ridomil, Acrobat has an important strategic fit for our systems," John says.

"Resistance can become an issue if things aren’t managed carefully. Acrobat does a good job on disease and helps us to manage resistance with alternative chemistry.
"Compared with other products, it has low use rates and its flexibility in a tank mix is appealing. We can mix it with a copper or Polyram to get more out of an application.

"The other benefit Acrobat has is that it’s active on a number of diseases. In cucurbits it does two jobs for us by tackling both gummy stem and downy mildew, which is a bonus."