EVALUATION OF TOMATO BREEDING LINES FOR RESISTANCE TO Sclerotium rolfsii AND CONTROL OF SOUTHERN BLIGHT OF VEGETABLES

Results of experiments conducted to evaluate several tomato breeding lines for resistance to S. rolfsii showed that tomatoes carry very little resistance to this pathogen. However, Lycopersicon piepinellifoliu· and some of its breeding lines were found to be resistant. Crop rotation using resistant or tolerant bell and hot pepper and bambara groundnut varieties significantly reduced the incidence of disease on subsequent tomato crop. Foliar applications of Bravo at 1 or 2 1 ha~l and Dithane M-45 at 1.2 and 2.4 kg ha"l to control early blight reduced the disease incidence of southern blight and^ significantly increased yields of tomatoes. Applications of Tilt, PL- ( 2, 4-dichlorophenyI) -4-propyl -1,3-dioxolam-2-yl_/ me thy 1/-1H-1,2,4-triazole) in both greenhouse and field studies reduced the incidence and severity of the disease on sweet banana peppers. Although plants showed phytotoxicity when dipped in solutions of Tilt, fairly good control was achieved if plants were inoculated 2 or more weeks after dipping in the fungicide solution before transplanting