Efficiency of the preparations Trichodermin-SC and Unical, SC for the control of grey mould in sunflower in the conditions of cultivation intensification in the south zone of the Republic of Moldova

The year by year expansion of the arable areas devoted to sunflower cultivation increases the risk of spreading pathogens, and in particular of the fungus Botrytis cinerea, which has a negative impact on the phytosanitary status in the agroclimatic conditions of the southern part of the Republic of Moldova. Since the economic and agro-climatic situation of agricultural producers requires the identification of cheap and effective products to face the challenges, it was proposed to test the preparations Trichodermin-SC and Unical, SC for the control of Botrytis cinerea, the causal agent of grey mould in sunflower crops. The research was conducted during the agricultural years 2022-2024. The tri-factorial experiment included three variants in three replications: 1) biological method of protection with the use of the ecological preparation Trichodermin-SC (based on the fungus Trichoderma lignorum), 2) chemical method of protection with the use of the chemical preparation Unical, SC (based on tebuconazole) and 3) the genetic factor. Three commercial hybrids of sunflower were tested: P64LE25, P64LP130 and LG5377. Overall, the results show a high biological efficacy of Trichodermin-SC preparation in the control of grey mould, reaching levels of 63.4% and 56.2%, but with a noticeable decrease (17.55%) on an intensive background of infection in 2024. The chemical preparation Unical, SC showed biological efficiencies ranging from 37.20%-60.0%. The Hybrids P64LE25 and P64LP130 manifested increased resistance to sunflower grey mould and are considered suitable for both conventional and ecologic system