Surface fungicides, which keep harmful fungi from penetrating the tissues of a plant, include inorganic and organic compounds. Sulfur compounds, long used on plants, have been supplemented for some time by other chemicals, especially by compounds of copper, such as Bordeaux mixture. After 1945, organic salts of iron, zinc, and mercury were synthesized as fungicides. Most post-1965 fungicides are systemic, acting directly on fungal cells. Antifungal drugs, such as miconazole and terbinafine, are used for human fungal infections.
Plant fungicides are usually applied by spraying or dusting, but some types are applied to seeds and soil for the destruction of vegetative spores. Fungicides used on wood, including creosote, prevent dry rot, and certain compounds are used to make fabrics resistant to mildews. Most agricultural fungicides are preventive; those applied after infection are called eradicant, or contact, fungicides.
In the United States, fungicides are governed by the 1972 federal Environmental Protection and Control Act. They must be registered with the Environmental Protection Agency and must conform to specifications. They must control the disease without injuring the plant and must leave no poisonous residue on edible crops. Antifungal drugs are approved by the Food and Drug Administration.
See also pesticide.
Any toxin used to kill or inhibit growth of fungi (see fungus) that cause economic damage to crop or ornamental plants (including rusts in cereals, blight in potatoes, mildew in fruits) or endanger the health of domestic animals or humans. Most are applied as sprays or dusts; seed fungicides are applied as a protective coating to seeds before germination. Copper compounds, especially copper sulfate mixed with lime and water (Bordeaux mixture), and sulfur have long been used for this purpose, but now synthetic organic compounds are commonly used. Many antifungal substances occur naturally in plant tissues.
Learn more about fungicide with a free trial on Britannica.com.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|