Benzimidazole fungicides are a class of fungicides including benomyl, carbendazim (MBC), thiophanate-methyl, thiabendazole and fuberidazole. They can control many ascomycetes and basidiomycetes, but not oomycetes. They are applied to cereals, fruits, vegetables and vines, and are also used in postharvest handling of crops. [1]
The solubility of benzimidazole fungicides is low at physiological pH and becomes high at low pH. In plants, carbendazim, thiabendazole and fuberidazole are mobile, i.e. systemic, and benomyl and thiophanate-methyl are converted to carbendazim. [2] This conversion also occurs in soils and animals. [1] In soil and water, carbendazim is mainly degraded by microbes. They are metabolized through hydrolysis and photolysis in plants. [2] These fungicides kill cells during mitosis by distorting the mitotic spindle; β-tubulin, a protein important in forming the cytoskeleton, is targeted. [1] They mostly inhibit polymerization of β-tubulin by interacting with it directly, but other interactions also exist. [3]
Starting in the late 1960s, they were widely used to control fungal pathogens such as Botrytis cinerea , Cercospora , powdery mildew and eyespot. These systemic fungicides were very effective at first. Because there is only one target site, benzimidazole resistance – fungicide resistance to this class – quickly became a serious problem. When they were the only fungicides used, pathogens became resistant after two to four seasons; when mixed with other fungicides, resistance developed more slowly. [3] Resistant genotypes with certain point mutations were selected. [4] Mutant pathogens resistant to one benzimidazole fungicide are usually resistant to all of them. [5] The F200Y and E198A,G,K mutations are the most common. Because of resistance problems, use of benzimidazole fungicides has declined. They are suspected to be toxic to animals, including humans. [1] The Fungicide Resistance Action Committee lists them as having a high risk of resistance evolution. [6]
Qo inhibitors (QoI), or quinone outside inhibitors, are a group of fungicides used in agriculture. Some of these fungicides are among the most popular in the world. QoI are chemical compounds which act at the quinol outer binding site of the cytochrome bc1 complex.
Fungicides are biocidal chemical compounds or biological organisms used to kill parasitic fungi or their spores. A fungistatic inhibits their growth. Fungi can cause serious damage in agriculture, resulting in critical losses of yield, quality, and profit. Fungicides are used both in agriculture and to fight fungal infections in animals. Chemicals used to control oomycetes, which are not fungi, are also referred to as fungicides, as oomycetes use the same mechanisms as fungi to infect plants. Fungicides can either be contact, translaminar or systemic. Contact fungicides are not taken up into the plant tissue and protect only the plant where the spray is deposited. Translaminar fungicides redistribute the fungicide from the upper, sprayed leaf surface to the lower, unsprayed surface. Systemic fungicides are taken up and redistributed through the xylem vessels. Few fungicides move to all parts of a plant. Some are locally systemic, and some move upwardly.
Black sigatoka is a leaf-spot disease of banana plants caused by the ascomycete fungus Mycosphaerella fijiensis (Morelet). Also known as black leaf streak, it was discovered in 1963 and named for its similarities with yellow Sigatoka, which is caused by Mycosphaerella musicola (Mulder), which was itself named after the Sigatoka Valley in Fiji, where an outbreak of this disease reached epidemic proportions from 1912 to 1923.
Fusarium wilt is a common vascular wilt fungal disease, exhibiting symptoms similar to Verticillium wilt. This disease has been investigated extensively since the early years of this century. The pathogen that causes Fusarium wilt is Fusarium oxysporum. The species is further divided into formae speciales based on host plant.
Carbendazim is a widely used, systemic, broad-spectrum benzimidazole fungicide and a metabolite of benomyl. It is also employed as a casting worm control agent in amenity turf situations such as golf greens, tennis courts etc. and in some countries is licensed for that use only.
Benzimidazole is a heterocyclic aromatic organic compound. This bicyclic compound may be viewed as fused rings of the aromatic compounds benzene and imidazole. It is a white solid that appears in form of tabular crystals.
A leaf spot is a limited, discoloured, diseased area of a leaf that is caused by fungal, bacterial or viral plant diseases, or by injuries from nematodes, insects, environmental factors, toxicity or herbicides. These discoloured spots or lesions often have a centre of necrosis. Symptoms can overlap across causal agents, however differing signs and symptoms of certain pathogens can lead to the diagnosis of the type of leaf spot disease. Prolonged wet and humid conditions promote leaf spot disease and most pathogens are spread by wind, splashing rain or irrigation that carry the disease to other leaves.
Benomyl is a fungicide introduced in 1968 by DuPont. It is a systemic benzimidazole fungicide that is selectively toxic to microorganisms and invertebrates, especially earthworms, but nontoxic toward mammals.
A Biopesticide is a biological substance or organism that damages, kills, or repels organisms seens as pests. Biological pest management intervention involves predatory, parasitic, or chemical relationships.
The cereal grain wheat is subject to numerous wheat diseases, including bacterial, viral and fungal diseases, as well as parasitic infestations.
Neonectria ditissima is a fungal plant pathogen. It causes cankers that can kill branches of trees by choking them off. Apple and beech trees are two susceptible species.
Corynespora cassiicola is a species of fungus well known as a plant pathogen. It is a sac fungus in the family Corynesporascaceae. It is the type species of the genus Corynespora.
Cercospora beticola is a fungal plant pathogen which typically infects plants of the genus Beta, within the family of Chenopodiaceae. It is the cause of Cercospora leaf spot disease in sugar beets, spinach and swiss chard. Of these hosts, Cercospora leaf spot is the most economically impactful in sugar beets. Cercospora beticola is a deuteromycete fungus that reproduces using conidia. There is no teleomorph stage. C. beticola is a necrotrophic fungus that uses phytotoxins specifically Cercospora beticola toxin (CBT) to kill infected plants. CBT causes the leaf spot symptom and prevents root formation. Yield losses from Cercospora leaf spot are around 20 percent.
Silver scurf is a plant disease that is caused by the plant pathogen Helminthosporium solani. Silver scurf is a blemish disease, meaning the effect it has on tubers is mostly cosmetic and affects "fresh market, processing and seed tuber potatoes." There are some reports of it affecting development, meaning growth and tuber yield. This is caused by light brown lesions, which in turn change the permeability of tuber skin and then it causes tuber shrinkage and water loss, which finally causes weight loss. The disease has become economically important because silver scurf affected potatoes for processing and direct consumption have been rejected by the industry. The disease cycle can be divided into two stages: field and storage. It is mainly a seed borne disease and the primary source of inoculum is mainly infected potato seed tubers. Symptoms develop and worsen in storage because the conditions are conducive to sporulation. The ideal conditions for the spread of this disease are high temperatures and high humidity. There are also many cultural practices that favor spread and development. Luckily, there are multiple ways to help control the disease.
Azoxystrobin is the ISO common name for an organic compound that is used as a fungicide. It is a broad spectrum systemic active ingredient widely used in agriculture to protect crops from fungal diseases. It was first marketed in 1996 using the brand name Amistar and by 1999 it had been registered in 48 countries on more than 50 crops. In the year 2000 it was announced that it had been granted UK Millennium product status.
Red thread disease is a fungal infection found on lawns and other turfed areas. It is caused by the corticioid fungus Laetisaria fuciformis and has two separate stages. The stage that gives the infection its name is characterised by very thin, red, needle-like strands extending from the grass blade. These are stromata, which can remain viable in soil for two years. After germinating, the stromata infect grass leaf blades through their stomata. The other stage is visible as small, pink, cotton wool-like mycelium, found where the blades meet. It is common when both warmth and humidity are high.
Thiophanate-methyl is an organic compound with the formula C6H4(NHC(S)NH(CO)OCH3)2. The compound is a colorless or white solid, although commercial samples are generally tan-colored. It is prepared from o-phenylenediamine.
Colletotrichum coffeanum is a species of fungal plant pathogen affecting mainly the species Coffea arabica and occasionally other species of the genus Coffea. Upon infection, the pathogen can cause coffee berry disease (CBD) which is also known as Brown Blight when it occurs on younger fruits still green in color. The fungus was first reported in Kenya in 1922, and is found throughout most of Africa. C. coffeanum is only found in Africa, but other species of Colletotrichum can be found throughout the rest of the world.
Powdery mildew of lilac, or Erysiphe syringae is a fungal pathogen of lilacs.