How to prevent and treat gray mold in fern? These methods you need to master

Fern is also known as fern, fist vegetable, dragon-head vegetable, ruyi vegetable, wolf's-bane, etc., and belongs to the Pteridaceae family as a perennial herbaceous plant. The edible part consists of the unexpanded pinnate leaves and young tender leaf stalks that grow from the leaf buds. It is a wild mountain vegetable with very high nutritional value, and has the reputation of “king of mountain vegetables”.

There are many kinds of fern, and varieties in different regions each have their own characteristics. Generally, they can be divided into the following by place of origin:

1) Hebei Chengde fern. Hebei Chengde fern is a famous wild vegetable in Hebei Province. The Chengde area has more than 33,000 hectares, mainly distributed in Longhua, Fengning, Pingquan, Kuancheng and other places. The annual output of the whole region is 1000 tons, making it a major domestic fern export base.

2) Liaoning fern. Liaoning fern is distributed throughout the mountainous areas of Liaoning Province, especially widely and abundantly in the eastern mountainous areas. It is mainly exported to Japan and other countries, and is also very popular in the domestic market.

3) Inner Mongolia fern. Inner Mongolia fern is distributed in various places in Inner Mongolia, but the main production areas are Chifeng City, Hinggan League and other places, with an annual output of about 200 tons. The local picking period is in June.

4) Heilongjiang fern. Heilongjiang fern is distributed in high mountain areas at an altitude of 200-800 m, mostly growing mixed with weeds. It begins to emerge in mid-May, and can be harvested from late May to early of the first ten days of the month.

5) Guizhou fern. Ferns are widely distributed and diverse in Guizhou, with about a species of edible ferns. Among them, the local picking period for fern is from mid-March to August.  

How to prevent and treat fern gray mold?

Disease symptoms of fern gray mold: It mainly damages the stems and leaves near the ground, initially showing water-soaked discoloration and rot. In severe cases, it spreads to the leaf stalks, which also rot. When humidity is high, a gray-brown or gray-yellow mold layer grows on the diseased parts. When the disease is severe, the whole plant turns yellow and dies.

Occurrence pattern of fern gray mold: The pathogen overwinters in diseased tissues as conidia and sclerotia, and often develops under low-temperature and humid conditions. Ferns maintained in greenhouses are prone to the disease in early spring or from late autumn to early winter when low temperature and high humidity last for a long time.

Infection sites of fern gray mold: stems, leaves

Disease classification of fern gray mold: fungus

Control methods for fern gray mold:

1) Careful maintenance: pay attention to increasing the temperature in the shed or greenhouse, reducing humidity, and maintaining ventilation and light transmission; once the disease occurs, immediately ventilate and reduce humidity, and the condition will quickly ease.

2) Spray 50% procymidone (Sumilex) wettable powder at 1500 times dilution or 50% iprodione (Rovral) wettable powder at 1000 times dilution. In areas where resistance to the above fungicides has developed, switch to 65% methiocarb·diethofencarb (Kedeling) wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, 40% pyrimethanil (Scala) suspension concentrate at 1200 times dilution, or 28% baimaiwei (huimeike) wettable powder at 500-800 times dilution. Apply once every about 10 days, for 2-3 consecutive treatments.