Which of the following is an example of cultural control?

• A. Avoiding overhead irrigation to reduce leaf blight on your tomatoes
• B. Using broad-spectrum pesticides
• C. Planting disease-susceptible varieties
• D. Increasing nitrogen fertilization

Answer: (A)

Cultural control means managing disease by changing how you grow and care for plants, to reduce disease pressure without using chemicals or relying on plant genetics. Avoiding overhead irrigation fits this approach because it changes the irrigation method to keep leaves drier, which lowers leaf wetness and the chance that pathogens like leaf blight can infect and spread on tomatoes. It’s a preventive practice that alters the environment and routine to make conditions less favorable for disease.

Using broad-spectrum pesticides is a chemical control—it relies on applying chemicals to kill pathogens. Planting disease-susceptible varieties is about host genetics, not a management practice to reduce disease pressure. Increasing nitrogen fertilization can influence plant growth and disease dynamics, but it isn’t a deliberate cultural control method for disease suppression.