ABSTRACT
One of the most important diseases that attack melon (Cucumis melo L.) is gummy stem blight, caused by the fungus Didymella bryoniae, which is highly aggressive under conditions of high temperature and humidity. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of fungicides associated with insecticides in the control of gummy stem blight in melon plants under naturally infested field conditions. The experiment was conducted as two assays; in assay I, the cultivar Eldorado 300 was used with the treatments of selective and non-selective insecticides mixed with fungicides. For assay II, the hybrid Hibrix was used with part of the same treatments used in assay I. According to the results, the treatments without fungicide and the mixtures of fungicide and selective and non-selective insecticides, with the use of pest and disease monitoring, showed high levels of gummy stem blight incidence and lower values of fruit yield in melon plants. On the other hand, treatments with fungicide or the mixture of fungicide with insecticide showed greater efficiency in controlling the disease, which resulted in higher fruit yield.
Keywords
Cucumis melo L.; Didymella bryoniae; integrated disease management
