Management of damping-off and wilt diseases of cucumber in Oman: challenges and opportunities

Oman is an agricultural country in the southeastern part of the Arabian Peninsula. Cucumber is among the five top crops in terms of production. Despite its importance, soil borne diseases of cucumbers, especially damping-off and wilt, have been a major challenge to cucumber production, resulting in losses that were reported to reach as high as 100%. Damping-off and wilt are caused by different fungal and oomycete species, including Pythium, Fusarium, Rhizoctonia and Monosporascus. Management of soil borne diseases has relied mainly on the use of fungicides. However, the frequent application of fungicides has brought with it concerns from environmental and health hazards. In addition, it resulted in the development of fungicide resistance among populations of fungal and oomycete pathogens. Cultural practices such as soil solarization and soil change in greenhouses have been reported to reduce pathogen inoculum. The shift toward organic agriculture over the last decade necessitates the development of native agents that can be used to control plant diseases. Biological control of plant diseases has received attention from researchers due to its safety to humans and the environment. Several bio-control agents that are effective against plant diseases and tolerant to environmental stress conditions have been investigated. An overview is presented about the management of damping-off and wilt diseases of cucumber.