Integrated management of avocado root rot (Persea americana Miller), caused by Phytophthora cinnamomi Rands

The root rot of avocado, is a devastating disease in all cultivated areas of Colombia and worldwide. In nurseries and during the first two years of establishment of the crop it is reported losses between 30 and 50% and in the field, incidences of the disease up to 75% are reported. The review is focused to propose alternatives of Integrated Management of the Disease, IDM, involving practices based on four basic principles: sanitation, cultural and biological management, use of resistant root stocks and chemical control. Sanitation, involves all the measures to reduce the possibility to introduce the disease in nurseries, such as: a) sterilization through vapor and use of fumigants in the substrate, b) good ventilation, c) good drainage, and d) seed treatment with hot water or systemic fungicides. The cultural and biological management, refer to development of cultural and biological practices to reduce the incidence of the disease, as planting of seedlings in mounds and application of fungi, such as Trichoderma harzianum, respectively. The use of resistant root stocks, such as Martín Grande G755a, G755b, and G755c, from Guatemala, NATU-001 and CANO-008 from Colombia, and Duke 6, Duke 7 and Thomas, from México, is the best alternative to control the disease, complemented with rational use of protectants fungicides before transplanting of the group of dithiocarbamates and systemics in the field of the groups acylalaninas and phosphonates, such as metalaxyl and fosetyl-Al, respectively. All these practices are focused into the logistic model of Van der Plank.