Studies on the Concentration of Ramularia beticola Conidia in the Air Above Sugar Beet fields in Denmark

Concentrations of Ramularia beticola Faut. & Lamb. conidia in the air above 3 sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.) field were registered for a period of 41 days altogether. A significant diurnal periodicity was revealed. Two periods of 3 and 5 days, respectively, included peaks of several thousands of conidia per m³ of air. The conidial concentrations were related to temperature, relative humidity (RH) and vapour pressure of the air, and to wind speed, dew point, rainfall and hours of sunshine. A significant effect of vapour pressure was observed for 2 fields. In one field with very low conidial concentrations, vapour pressure was nearly significant. In this field only wind speed significantly influenced dispersal of conidia. In an analysis of covariance including all data, 50% of the variation was explained by field, time of day, vapour pressure and number of hours of RH above 95% in the preceding 24h.