Tebuconazole-A Potential and Safe New Generation Fungicide for the Management of Anthracnose of Cowpea (Vigna unguiculata subsp. sesquipedalis (L.) Verdcourt)

In vitro evaluation of the test fungicides against C. gloeosporioides inciting anthracnose of cowpea revealed that propiconazole (0.1%), flusilazole (0.1%), tebuconazole (0.1%) and carboxin + thiram (0.4%) caused 100% inhibition of the mycelial growth of the pathogen. The in vivo evaluation showed that three rounds of foliar application of flusilazole (0.1%) at 30, 45 and 60 days after seed emergence recorded the lowest disease index (5.60) followed by tebuconazole at 0.1% (8.30). The field evaluation revealed that foliar application of flusilazole or tebuconazole at 0.1% recorded the lowest anthracnose (0.93) index followed by treatment with copper oxychloride (0.2%). The persistence and degradation of fungicide residues indicated that tebuconazole (0.1%) had the shortest waiting period (zero day), indicating its safety to the vegetable.