Tolerance of aggressive and non-aggressive isolates of Ceratocystis ulmi to organotin fungicides

The effect of triorganotin compounds, R₃SnX, on the growth of three wild strains of Ceratocystis ulmi (C. ulmi) fungus, two aggressive and one non-aggressive strains, was evaluated in shake culture. In all cases, the triphenyltins were the more effective organotins for the inhibition of C. ulmi in vitro. The anionic group, X, did not have a significant role in the inhibition, suggesting that the species involved in the inhibition is the triphenyltin moiety (Ph₃Sn⁺) or the hydrated triphenyltin moiety (Ph₃Sn(H₂O)⁺₂). It is further suggested that the triphenyltin species Ph₃SnOH and Ph₃SnOAc are the preferred compounds for the control of Dutch elm disease. The tolerance of aggressive isolates to fungitoxins appears to depend more on the nature of the fungicide than on the type of fungus.