Fungal diseases in grapevines cultivated in open field and under waterproof cover

ABSTRACT The use of protected cultivation in grapevines has increased with the aim of reducing the occurrence of fungal diseases. Therefore, an experiment was carried out with the cultivars ‘Isabel’, ‘Isabel Precoce’, ‘Bordô’ and ‘Concord’ produced in sequential summer and winter crop seasons and managed in open field and under waterproof plastic cover, without fungicide application. The aim of this study was to verify the severity of the major fungal diseases (downy mildew, anthracnose, leaf spot and grape vine rust) and defoliation under those conditions. The use of plastic cover, during both the summer and the winter crop seasons, reduces the severity of the main fungal diseases and defoliation for the evaluated grapevine cultivars. ‘Bordô’ showed higher tolerance to fungal diseases when compared to the other cultivars. Yield values for vines managed under protected cultivation were higher than those found for vines grown in open field.