Do some IPM concepts contribute to the development of fungicide resistance? Lessons learned from the apple scab pathosystem in the United States

Abstract

One goal of integrated pest management (IPM) as it is currently practiced is an overall reduction in fungicide use in the management of plant disease. Repeated and long-term success of the early broad-spectrum fungicides led to optimism about the capabilities of fungicides, but to an underestimation of the risk of fungicide resistance within agriculture. In 1913, Paul Ehrlich recognized that it was best to 'hit hard and hit early' to prevent microbes from evolving resistance to treatment. This tenet conflicts with the fungicide reduction strategies that have been widely promoted over the past 40 years as integral to IPM. The authors hypothesize that the approaches used to implement IPM have contributed to fungicide resistance problems and may still be driving that process in apple scab management and in IPM requests for proposals. This paper also proposes that IPM as it is currently practiced for plant diseases of perennial systems has been based on the wrong model, and that conceptual shifts in thinking are needed to address the problem of fungicide resistance.

Effects of Sublethal Fungicides on Mutation Rates and Genomic Variation in Fungal Plant Pathogen, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum

“…Although several authors have speculated that plant pathogenic fungi exposed to environmental stress and/or sublethal fungicide doses may increase mutation rates and lead to resistance [12,13], no previous studies have rigorously tested this hypothesis or used a genome-wide approach. Thus, the goal of our current work was to elucidate the impact of sublethal fungicide exposure on genomic variation, mutation rates, and fungicide sensitivity, using a model plant pathogen with a reference genome to enable subsequent whole-genome studies.…”

Evaluation of the Cultivar Effect on Wine Grape Fungal Diseases with a Use of a Low-Input Fungicide Regimen in Southeastern Virginia, USA

“…Moreover, risks of fungicide resistance development from the reliance on curative fungicide application have been discussed [11]. Therefore, the demonstrated efficacy of a relatively low-input protective fungicide program helps us to reduce unnecessary fungicide applications.…”

“…[9]. The over use of the materials often resulted in the misuse of them, which can increase the risk of fungicide resistance [10,11]. The frequent application of fungicides also increases the concern on the over use of "hard" materials such as mancozeb and captan, which are used frequently because of their broad target pathogen ranges and low fungicide resistance risks [8,9].…”

The effect of sustainable plant protection and apple tree management on fruit quality and yield

“…Recently, researchers have shown an increased interest in alternatives and complementary techniques and chemical methods. Integrated plant management (IPM) promotes the use all techniques and methods of environmental efficiency of protection strategies in all possible ways (Bound, 2005;Poulsen et al, 2009;Raudonis et al, 2010;Holb et al, 2012;Beckerman et al, 2015;Damos et al, 2015).…”

“…According to the EU directive "Sustainable use of pesticides", definition of IPM principles and national guidelines is a topical issue at the moment, since growers are required to implement IPM in their production from the year of 2014 with the aim of reducing the impact and usage of pesticides (Damos et al, 2015). The integrated production or quality assurance schemes operated in many European countries (Poulsen et al, 2009;Holb et al, 2012;Beckerman et al, 2015).…”