Downy Mildew on Spinach and Related Plants (March 5, 2014)

Spinach is a member of the plant family Chenopodiaceae, which also contains the crop plants beets and Swiss chard as well as weeds such as nettleleaf goosefoot and lambsquarters. Downy mildew, caused by the oomycete pathogen Peronospora farinosa, which exists as different races or subtypes, can develop on all of these plants. An important question for spinach growers is this: can isolates of the pathogen that cause downy mildew on beets, Swiss chard, or weed hosts cause downy mildew on spinach? Monterey County, California Farm Advisor Steve Koike and colleagues conducted research to answer this question. Isolates of the pathogen from nettleleaf goosefoot, lambsquarters, beet and Swiss chard were each used to inoculate spinach. The result: no disease development. In a separate experiment, the downy mildew pathogen from spinach was used to inoculate nettleleaf goosefoot and lambsquarters. The result again was no disease development. The bottom line is that spinach growers need not worry about related Chenopodiaceae such as nettleleaf goosefoot, lambsquarters, beets or Swiss chard as potential sources of inoculum for their spinach crop. Even though the bluish-purple evidence of the pathogen on the underside of leaves is similar in appearance on all of these plants, the particular isolates of the downy mildew pathogen have very specific and limited host ranges.

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To contact Mike Matheron go to: matheron@ag.arizona.edu.