Seed treatment for controlling damping-off caused by Globisporangium irregulare and Globisporangium ultimum var. sporangiiferum in soybean from southern Brazil

Abstract Globisporangium irregulare and G. ultimum var. sporangiiferum were recently reported to be associated with soybean damping-off in Brazil. Currently, there is no known information about fungicide seed treatments for soybean. Thus, the objective of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of commercial fungicide-based products to control soybean damping-off caused by G. irregulare and G. ultimum var. sporangiiferum. The experiments were performed with 15 seed treatments (non-treated check, Certeza N, Apron RFC, Maxim, Maxim XL, Maxim Quattro, Maxim Advanced, Vitavax Thiram, Standak Top, Spectro, Verango, Derosal Plus, Carbendazim, Attic and Rancona T) and two soybean cultivars (‘DM57i52’ and ‘NEO530’). In vitro assays were performed to verify the effect of seed treatments on seed germination and seed rot, whereas growth chamber assays were conducted to evaluate the effect of seed treatments on emergence, root rot and seedling dry mass. Products that contain metalaxyl-M were the most effective at controlling damping-off caused by G. irregulare and G. utimum var. sporangiiferum followed by products that contain thiram. Overall, Apron RFC, Maxim Advanced and Maxim Quattro had higher efficacy to reduce damping-off caused by either G. irregulare or G. ultimum var. sporangiiferum therefore, can be recommended for seed treatment of soybean.