S14 - Session P2 - Biological control of main diseases and pests on melon crops in the field

Authors: Gabriela Sovarel *, Ioan Scurtu, Simona Stefania Hogea, Gicuta Sbirciog

The cultivation of melons occupies an important area in Romania. In Europe, our country ranks 4th in terms of area after Spain, Italy and France. The main foliar diseases of melons, Pseudoperonospora cubensis and Sphaerotheca fuliginea , have a negative impact on fruit yield and quality. Also, in warm and dry summer, the mites ( Tetranychus urticae ) caused significant damages on melons crop in the field. This experiment aimed to study the efficacy of biological plant protection products for the control of mites ( T. urticae ), powdery mildew ( S. fuliginea ) and downy mildew ( P. cubensis ) on melons crops in field. The experiment includes 2 fungicides for downy mildew based on aluminum fosetyl 800 g / kg (2 kg/ha, chemical control), Mimosa tenuiflora extract 60% and citrus extract 20% (3 l/ha), 2 biological fungicides for powdery mildew, based on Bacillus amyloliquefaciens strain FZB24 (0.37 kg / ha), Bacillus pumilus strain QST 2808 (10 l / ha) and 4 biological products used to mites control, based on potassium salts of C7-C20 fatty acids (16 l / ha), mixture of terpenoids QRD 460 (10 l / ha), cinnamon extract (3 l/ha) and saponified oil extract from Neem tree 40% (3 l/ha). The frequency, severity and infection degree of attack diseases on the leaves were recorded and analyzed. The biological products had efficacy between 56.25 and 88.25% in the control of the adult mite T. urticae , 47.02 - 66.48% on P. cubensis and 71.25m84.76% on S. fuliginea . It is concluded that it is possible to grow melon in an organic way using these biological products for controling the main diseases and pest on melons crop in the field.