Resistance to QoI and DMI Fungicides Does Not Reduce Virulence of C. beticola Isolates in North Central United States

Cercospora leaf spot (CLS) is a destructive disease limiting sugar beet production and managed using resistant cultivars, crop rotation, and timely applications of effective fungicides. Since 2016, its causal agent, Cercospora beticola, has been reported to be resistant to Quinone outside inhibitors (QoIs) and to have reduced sensitive to Demethylation inhibitors (DMIs) in sugar beet growing areas in North Dakota and Minnesota. Isolates of C. beticola resistant to QoIs, DMIs, and both QoIs and DMIs were collected from Foxhome fields, Minnesota in 2017. Fitness of these resistant isolates was compared to that of QoI- and DMI-sensitive isolates in laboratory and greenhouse studies. In the lab, mycelial growth, spore production, and spore germination were measured. The results showed that resistant isolates had significantly less mycelial growth and spore production than sensitive isolates, while no significant difference in spore germination was detected. In the greenhouse, six leaf-stage sugar beets were inoculated with a spore suspension made from each resistant group and then incubated in separate humidity chambers. CLS disease severity was evaluated visually at 7, 14, and 21 days after inoculation (DAI) and the areas under disease progress curve (AUDPC) were calculated. Resistant isolates had significantly smaller AUDPC but still caused high disease severity as the sensitive ones at 21 DAI. Although QoI and/or DMI resistant isolates had a relatively slower disease development, they still caused high disease severity and need to be factored in disease management practices.