Cross-resistance patterns among sterol biosynthesis inhibiting fungicides (SBIs) in Cercospora beticola

Thirty single-spore isolates of Cercospora beticola, collected from several fields in northern Greece, representing a broad spectrum sensitivity to the sterol demethylation-inhibiting (DMIs) fungicide flutriafol, were tested for sensitivity to eleven other sterol biosynthesis-inhibiting (SBI) fungicides and to the guanidine fungicide dodine. Sensitivity was measured as EC50 values for each fungicide and log-transformed EC50 values to each fungicide were pairwise correlated and the correlation coefficient estimated. These pairwise comparisons showed high correlation coefficients between the DMIs suggesting a cross-resistance relationship between these fungicides. However, the degree of cross-resistance between DMIs varied greatly. Conversely, low correlation coefficients were obtained for the pair-wise comparisons with the morpholine fungicide fenpropimorph suggesting a lack of cross-resistance between morpholines and DMIs in C. beticola. Similarly, there was no correlation between the sensitivity (EC50 values) to dodine and all the other fungicides tested, indicating that there was no negative cross-resistance relationship between dodine and SBIs in C. beticola. Based on these results, combinations or alternations of fungicides which show no cross-resistance relationship should be used to control the disease in areas where reduced sensitivity to DMIs has been already observed.