Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 123:302–303. 2010.

Efficacy of Fungicides for the Control of Myrothecium

roridum on Dieffenbachia picta ‘Compacta’
Robert T. McMillan, Jr.*
Kerry’s Bromeliad Nursery Inc., 21840 SW 258th Street, Homestead, FL 33031
Additional index words. Dieffenbachia picta cv. Compacta, Myrothecium roridum, leaf spot
Myrothecium leaf spot, caused by the fungus Myrothecium roridum, is a serious disease of Dieffenbachia picta Schott
cv. Compacta. In 2009, six products were trialed for efficacy against M. roridum in a shade house. The D. picta plants
were started from tissue-cultured liners potted in 6-inch plastic pots. ‘Compacta’ liners were potted for each of the six
treatments including an untreated control. Natural infection was allowed to take place prior to the first application of
the chemicals. Fungicides were applied on a 7- to 21-d schedule or on a closer interval depending on disease severity and
replicated 4 times per treatment. Chipco 26019 (iprodione) at 2 lb per 100 gal of water, Compass O (trifloxystrobin) at 1
oz per 100 gal of water, Daconil 2787 (chlorothalonil) at 1.5 lb per 100 gal of water, Heritage (azoxystrobin) at 4 oz per
100 gal of water, Medallion (fludioxonil) at 2 oz per 100 gal of water, and Systhane (myclobutanil) at 2 oz per 100 gal of
water were significantly more effective in the control of Myrothecium leaf spot than copper at 1.5 lb per 100 gal of water.

The dieffenbachia aroid is dedicated to Ernst Dieffenbachia,
a 19th century German physician. The genus Dieffenbachia is a
monocot of the Araceae family that is indigenous to the Caribbean,
Central America, and South America. Dieffenbachia is a very
popular interiorscape plant due to low light tolerance, it is easy
to grow and maintain, and its attractive foliar variegation (Fig. 1).
Diseases caused by Myrothecium roridum Tode exx. Fr. have
been found on many agricultural plants, including ornamental,
vegetable, and agronomic crops (Alfieri et al., 1991; Pirone et
al., 1960). The first description of a Myrothecium leaf spot on
a foliage plant was described in 1981 on Aphelandra squarrosa
Ness. Since then many other foliage plants, including dieffenba-
chia, have been added to the expanding list of susceptible hosts
(Chase, 1983; Chase, 1997; Daughtrey et al., 1992).
Lesions on the leaf surface produce irregularly shaped black
sporodochia, with a white fringe of mycelium, that form in con-
centric rings within necrotic areas (Agrios, 1997). The lesions are
not confined to the leaf blade but can be found on leaf margins,
tips, and wound sites. These lesions frequently occur all over the
small tissue-cultured plantlets (Chase, 1997).
To reduce Myrothecium leaf spot on dieffenbachia in a pro-
duction greenhouse, avoid temperatures between 21 and 27 °C,
keep mechanical wounding to a minimum, and fertilize at the
recommended rate (Chase et al., 1983). However, it is not always
possible to control all of the above factors and the growers must
resort to chemical control fungicides. This is especially true for
shade house nurseries that start their crop from tissue culture or
cutting liners.
Chlorothalonil, Daconil 2787, has been shown to be effective
in controlling Myrothecium on many foliage plants. Excellent
control has been reported on ‘Perfection’ dieffenbachia. Man-
cozeb compounds have been shown to provide excellent control
of Myrothecium leaf spot. These compounds should always be
applied as a preventive treatment to avoid infections from My-
rothecium (Chase, 1997).
The purpose of this research was to test the efficacy of resent fun-
gicides for Myrothecium, especially systemics on dieffenbachia.

Methods and Materials

The efficacy trial was carried out in a commercial shade house

Fig. 1. Typical habit of Dieffenbachia picta ‘Compacta’ used throughout
the fungicide efficacy trial.
*Corresponding author; phone: (305) 247-7096; email: rmcmillan@kerrys.com
under 70% shade with overhead irrigation sprinklers. Dieffenba-
chia picta ‘Compacta’ liners were potted in a commercial mix
of peat and perlite in 6-inch green plastic pots on 10 Apr. 2009.
Plants were fertilized weekly with 150 ppm Peters Professional
20–20–20 water-soluble fertilizer (The Scotts Company, Marys-
ville, OH). The experimental area consisted of six 60-d-old pot-
ted ‘Compacta’ plants infected with M. roridum placed on each

302 Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 123: 2010.

side of the six potted ‘Compacta’ treatment plants. Six plants
per treatment were arranged in a completely randomized design
with four replications. Each treatment row of ‘Compacta’ was
bordered by two ‘Compacta’ infected rows.
Seven fungicides were evaluated for disease control in a
commercial nursery. Treatments and rates, except Chipco 26019
(iprodione) and Daconil 2787 (chlorothalonil), were applied every
21 d, with first fungicide application on 10 June 2009, ending on
10 Oct. 2009 for a total of four applications, with a CO2-driven
backpack sprayer equipped with a single flat fan nozzle (Table
1). Chipco and Daconil 2787 were applied every 7 d for a total
of 16 applications. Treatments were applied until point of runoff
in a spray volume of 100 gal/acre.
Myrothecium roridum leaf spots were counted on 9 Oct. 2009.
Plants were rated on a scale of 1 to 5, where 0 = no disease; 1
= 10% to 30%; 2 = 30% to 50%; 3 = 50% to 70%; 4 = 70% to
90%; and 5 = 90% to 100%.
Fig. 2. Typical Myrothecium roridum leaf spot on Dieffenbachia picta
‘Compacta’ leaf.
Results and Discussion

Myrothecium roridum leaf spots on plants in treatment rows

infected from the diseased border row ‘Compacta’ were identi-
cal in all respects to the lesions resulting from natural infection.
Disease leaf spots were first noted on the leaves 6 to 10 d after
infection on the abaxial leaf surface. The spots are dark brown and
initially appear water-soaked (Fig 2). Also, noted on the abaxial
leaf surface is the irregularly shaped, black sporodochia, with a
white fringe of mycelium, which form in concentric rings within
necrotic areas there (Fig 3).
All of the fungicides applied as a protective spray, were sig-
nificantly better than the control (Table 1). Heritage, Insignia,
Medallion, and Pageant were significantly more effective than the
other treatments as compared to the untreated control (Table 2).
Chipco 26019, Compas O, and Daconil 2787 were significantly
better than the untreated control.
At present the system strobalurans are extremely effective
for the control of Myrothecium leaf spot but the lessons learned
from past experience with systemic fungicides tell us that the
fungus will eventually become resistant. However, with the re- Fig. 3 Abaxial surface of leaf showing black sporodochia with a white
cent advances in genetics there is a good possibility to develop fringe of mycelium formed inside concentric rings within the necrotic
dieffenbachias as well as other aroids resistant to Myrothecium area on the leaf.
leaf spot. The ultimate goal of the foliage industry is to provide
the best finished product to the consumer.
Table 1. Effect of foliar spray of different fungicides on Myrothecium
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Proc. Fla. State Hort. Soc. 123: 2010. 303