White mold is a yield-limiting disease during the fall-winter season in southeastern Brazil when irrigated type III common beans are generally sown 0.5 m apart with 10 to 12 plants per meter. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of combining increased row width (RW) and reduced planting density (PD), with or without fungicide, for white mold management. Treatments were arranged as a 2³ factorial: RW (0.50 or 0.75 m), PD (6 or 12 plants per meter), and fungicide (sprayed or unsprayed). Two trials were conducted in Viçosa, State of Minas Gerais. In 2002, the average incidence of white mold was 43.2%, the severity index, 31.1%, and the yield, 2513 kg ha-1. In 2003, the values of these variables were 48.0%, 22.6%, and 2159 kg ha-1, respectively. Interactions involving both RW and PD were not significant for either disease intensity or yield in the combined analysis across years. Increasing RW led to reduction in white mold intensity in 2002. The lower PD reduced disease incidence in 2002 and did not affect yield in the combined analysis. In fungicide sprayed plots, wide RW decreased yield in 2002, but RW did not affect yield in 2003. In unsprayed plots, RW did not affect yield in both years. We conclude that increasing RW to 0.75 m combined with low PD is a promising strategy for white mold management when fungicide is not applied. When fungicide is applied, the current row width (0.50 m) combined with low PD maximize the yield.
Phaseolus vulgaris; Sclerotinia sclerotiorum; integrated management; plant population; Sclerotinia stem rot
