A review on the potential effects of temperature on fungicide effectiveness

Fungicides are one possible way to manage fungal and oomycete plant pathogens in order to safeguard yield and quality of crops and to improve shelf‐life of produce in agriculture and horticulture. However, global warming and the resulting temperature increase may affect the effectiveness of some important fungicides, including efficacy and duration of plant disease control. Nevertheless, according to our literature survey, there is little specific information available on whether and how temperature influences the effectiveness of fungicides. The very few publications that show specific data are summarized herein. Specific data are mainly gained under controlled conditions, both based on in vitro and in planta experiments. Field data are more or less missing. Most researchers assume that indirect effects of temperature on fungicide efficacy are particularly important. For example, temperature effects on pathogen spore germination and hyphal growth (optimal versus sub‐ and supra‐optimal), whereby optimal temperature conditions can improve pathogen fitness, thereby increasing the tolerance of pathogens to fungicides. Presumably, these indirect effects are often more important than the direct effects of temperature on fungicide performance. However, the data needed to prove this assumption are lacking. Therefore, it would be beneficial to conduct more in‐depth laboratory, greenhouse and field experiments in order to investigate the potential direct and indirect influence of temperature on the effectiveness of important fungicides. This would enable the establishment of appropriate recommendations for fungicide use in an increasingly warmer world and would assist the development of future fungicide solutions, based on improved knowledge. The effects of temperature on the effectiveness of important fungicides should be investigated in order to guide fungicide use in an increasingly warmer world, based on improved knowledge.