Innovative strategies for controlling apple scab: design, evaluation and integration in orchards

Apple scab is a much-feared disease in orchards growing susceptible varieties. As any fruit affected by scab is discarded, protection of the most widely grown varieties is essentially achieved through intensive chemical control. We have demonstrated experimentally that certain practices, such as reducing the primary inoculum of apple scab through mechanical intervention on leaf litter, planting varieties with low susceptibility to scab, or intercropping a susceptible variety with a resistant one, can each significantly reduce the development of the disease.