Efficacy of probenazole for control of southern corn leaf blight.

Southern corn leaf blight (SCLB) is an important foliar disease of maize and its control depends on resistant cultivars or fungicides. Maneb is the recommended fungicide to control SCLB; however, application of maneb has been increasingly limited due to public concerns about the potential harmful effects of fungicide residues on human health and the environment. Therefore, an alternative approach was explored in this study using a plant activator, probenazole, to control SCLB. Application of probenazole provided effective control of SCLB under greenhouse conditions. For practical use, using probenazole at a practical rate (1.8 kg a.i./ha) was demonstrated to effectively suppress SCLB under field conditions. In addition, the effect of probenazole treatment on the growth of maize was examined. Compared with the untreated control, leaf length, leaf width, plant height, and the fresh and dry weights of probenazole-treated corn plants were not influenced; therefore, it is suggested that application of probenazole could be an alternative to control SCLB. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]