Screening Fungicides for Control of Coffee Berry Disease in Kenya

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Abstract
Summary: Fourteen out of 43 fungicides were selected, after laboratory screening, for field trials against coffee berry disease. Each fungicide was compared with a commercial cuprous oxide formulation and an unsprayed control, by assessing conidial production of bearing coffee branches and by recording the percentage of healthy ripe berries picked. In assessments of fungicidal efficiency, healthy ripe berry counts gave more consistent results than those obtained by measuring conidial production. The results from berry counts indicate that in these experiments Ortho Difolatan (BSI ‘Captafol’) was equal, but not significantly superior, to the standard formulation used in estate spraying. The annual rhythm of conidial production seems to have changed over the past five years. The significance of this is discussed in relation to the control of coffee berry disease.