The relative effectiveness of homoeopathic potencies of Peronospora parasitica compared to Acrobat (dimethomorph and mancozeb) and Bravo (chlorothalonil) in the control of downy mildew in cabbage seedlings

Abstract

The downy mildews are fungal pathogens which cause severe epidemics on many crops, and are difficult to control by either management practices or fungicides. Homoeopathic medicines have been investigated for their control of fungi, with promising results. However, there are a few well conducted trials in the homoeopathic literature. In particular, the lack of statistical analyses is evident in most of the work done to date. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of a homoeopathic remedy, prepared from a leaf infected with Peronospora parasitica, for the control of downy mildew of Brassicas. These results were compared to fungicides used to control downy mildew namely, Acrobat and Bravo. The subjects of this study were trays of cabbage seedlings. The seedlings were inoculated by introducing infected seedlings at a rate of one per tray. The potencies used in the trials were 9CH, 30CH, 200CH and 1M. Special attention was paid to preventative and curative functions of the treatment sprays. Four replicates of each treatment were used, in a randomised blocks design. The test population was divided into two groups. The first group, Batch A, was treated prophylactically and the second, Batch B, curatively. The trays were placed into randomised positions generated by a computer, in order to nullify subjectivity and the effect of tray position.