Response of Potatoes to Soil-Applied Insecticides, Fungicides, and Herbicides

摘要

Non-target impacts of pesticides are well documented in crops such as soybeans and corn. However, little effort has been made to evaluate these impacts in potatoes. Field trials were conducted at the Parma and Aberdeen Research and Extension Centers during 2005 and 2006 to evaluate the potential for systemic insecticides, fungicides, and herbicides to affect disease development, crop injury, and tuber yield. The first set of trials evaluated six insecticide treatments (aldicarb, oxamyl, phorate, imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, and non-treated) in a factorial combination with in-furrow application of the fungicide azoxystrobin. Azoxystrobin significantly decreased Rhizoctonia stem canker, while aldicarb and phorate tended to increase it compared to the non-treated control. There was a significant insecticide by fungicide interaction due to a bigger reduction in disease index by the fungicide when certain insecticides were used. Despite the association of these insecticides with increased disease incidence, there was no significant impact on yield. In the second set of trials, sulfentrazone herbicide was applied just prior to plant emergence to potatoes treated with the same six insecticides to evaluate the potential for the in-furrow treatments to increase plant injury. Sulfentrazone caused stunting and visible plant injury, but the level of plant injury was influenced by insecticide treatment in only one out of four trials.