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5198743 
Journal Article 
Control of black spot disease/fruitlet core rot in queen pineapple with integrated mealybug, pineapple fruit mite and fungus control programmes 
Petty, GJ; Tustin, HA; Dicks, HM 
2006 
Yes 
Acta Horticulturae
ISSN: 0567-7572 
Acta Horticulturae 
702 
143-+ 
WOS:000237703400017 
The economic consequences of Black Spot disease/Fruitlet Core Rot in the Hluhluwe district of KwaZulu-Natal are far more serious than any other post-harvest disease in Queen pineapples. In a 5 x 2 x 2 factorial trial at Hluhluwe, twenty different insecticide - miticide - fungicide treatment combinations were applied to pineapple field plots in an attempt to control the biota known to be associated with this disease, i.e. the fungi, Penicillium funiculosum and Fusarium subglutinans; the pink pineapple mealybug, Dysmicoccus brevipes; the pineapple fruit mite, Steneotarsonemus ananas. A fungicide programme comprising of five benomyl 50% WP and mancozeb 80% WP sprays, applied as a tank mixture from one week before to eleven weeks after flower induction gave a highly significant 75.8% reduction (P < 0.001) of total number of black spots per fruit with fourteen days storage at ambient temperature. Incidence of black spots in fruits was also, on average, significantly reduced (P = 0.032) by the application of endosulfan 35% EC for fruit mite control; two to five pre- and post-flower induction sprays, at four week intervals from five weeks before, to eleven weeks after flower induction gave reductions of. 22.6%, 24.1%, 41.9% and 45.2%, respectively. Mealybug control programmes gave a non-significant 7.5% reduction in Black Spot incidence. There were no significant first or second order interactions between the different control programmes. The treatments applied are unregistered and the results obtained are unconfirmed research data. 
Ananas comosus (L.) Merr.; chemical control; Steneotarsonemus ananas; Dymicoccus brevipes; Penicillium funiculosum; Fusarium subglutinans