Fungicides and Biocontrols for Management of Florists’ Crops Diseases

Abstract

Florists’ crops are prone to numerous diseases caused by fungi, oomycetes, bacteria, nematodes, viruses, viroids, phytoplasmas, and abiotic agents. Since consumers prefer and typically require high quality aesthetics for florists’ crops, any marring due to pathogens will greatly reduce crop value if not render it nonsalable. Continued grower livelihood requires successful management of pathogens using all available components of integrated disease management. In this chapter, we will briefly describe the current development pathway for chemical and biological tools to manage diseases, guidelines for use including considerations for resistance management, and application technology. We will highlight current fungicides and biopesticides registered in the United States to ameliorate diseases of florists’ crops.