What are the common diseases of Ceylon spinach? Detailed explanation of control methods

Many people may have eaten Ceylon spinach, but few can name it. Judging by its name, it should be a vegetable that looks somewhat like wood ear mushroom. Ceylon spinach not only has edible value, but also has certain ornamental and medicinal value. It has a very good effect of purifying the blood and detoxifying.

What is Ceylon spinach

Ceylon spinach (scientific name: Gynura cusimbua), also known as chan cai, luokui, tofu vegetable, purple angle leaf, is a plant of the genus Gynura, a perennial tall herb, 1.5-2 m tall. Flowering and fruiting period is September-October. Ceylon spinach is eaten as seedlings, tender shoots or tender leaves, with a tender, soft and smooth texture and high nutritional value. It can be used in soups, stir-fried, blanched, cold-dressed, etc. It has a delicate fragrance, and when chewed it is as crisp and refreshing as eating wood ear mushroom, hence the name Ceylon spinach. It is commonly cultivated in both the north and south, can be grown as a perennial in the tropical regions of the south, and is mostly grown as an annual in the north. The leaves contain a variety of vitamins as well as calcium and iron, and can be grown as a vegetable or for ornamental purposes. The whole plant is used medicinally as a laxative, with the effects of lubricating the intestines, dispelling heat, and promoting urination and defecation; the flower juice has the effect of purifying the blood and detoxifying, can relieve smallpox toxin, and when applied externally treats carbuncle toxin and cracked nipples. The fruit juice can be used as a harmless food colorant.

Common diseases of Ceylon spinach

1. Brown spot disease: it damages the leaves. The lesions are nearly round, ranging in size from a sorghum grain to a soybean grain, with purplish-brown edges and clear boundaries; the center of the lesion is yellowish-white to yellowish-brown, slightly sunken and thin, and some are prone to perforation. In severe cases, the entire leaf is covered with lesions and loses its edible value. Mycelium and conidia overwinter in the soil with diseased residues, and in the second year the conidia cause infection, and the spores produced in the diseased parts spread and re-infect through airflow and rain splashing. Humidity is the decisive factor in the occurrence and spread of this disease, and the disease is severe in places that leak rain in protected cultivation.

2. Gray mold disease: it mainly occurs on leaves and leaf stalks, initially appearing water-soaked, and develops quickly under suitable temperature and humidity conditions. Leaves wilt and rot, stems fade to green and become water-soaked, then the stems are prone to breaking or rotting, and a gray mold layer easily appears on the diseased parts. High humidity and low temperature are the dominant factors causing the occurrence and spread of gray mold disease. Plants that are too densely planted and excessive nitrogen fertilizer application are suitable for the reproduction of the pathogen, and the disease is also severe. The mycelium or mycelial mass of the pathogen overwinters in diseased residues, and some conidia attach to the seed surface or the mycelium lurks inside the seed coat to overwinter. In the following year the mycelium produces conidia that spread through airflow and cause initial infection. Agricultural operations are also one of the transmission routes.

3. Mosaic disease: the whole plant is affected, the diseased plant's leaves become smaller and wrinkled, with blister-like protrusions on the leaf surface and obviously raised veins on the underside of the leaf, and even deformation and bending, and early-infected plants are noticeably dwarfed. It is generally caused by tobacco mosaic virus and spreads through contact; as long as the sap of the virus touches slightly wounded leaves, it can spread the infection.

Common disease control methods for Ceylon spinach

1. Integrated control: plant at an appropriate density, sow in drills or in hills 5 rows per 1 m wide bed, with a plant spacing of 20 cm. In protected cultivation, adopt ecological control with timely ventilation to reduce humidity, and avoid excessive watering or excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer. After harvesting, topdress in time, and spray the leaf surface with yield-increasing bacteria, Zhibaosu, etc., to promote early and rapid growth of the plants and increase yield.

2. Chemical control: in protected cultivation, 10% procymidone smoke agent at 250 g per mu or 5% chlorothalonil dust at 1 kg per mu can be applied; or 6.5% dimethirimol dust and 65% dimethirimol wettable powder at 1000-1500 times dilution can be sprayed separately at the early stage of the disease, or 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder at 1000 times dilution plus 70% thiophanate-methyl wettable powder at 1000 times dilution can be sprayed. To control viral diseases, aphids should be eliminated as early as possible, using 50% pirimicarb wettable powder at 2500-3000 times dilution for spraying; when mosaic symptoms first appear, continuously spray 20% virus A wettable powder at 500 times dilution, once every 7 days.

Nutritional value and benefits of Ceylon spinach  

1. Promotes blood circulation. Prevents vascular hardening and promotes blood circulation. Lowers blood lipids and is of great help to patients with cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.  

2. Treats pain caused by trauma, blocked blood circulation, nerve numbness, and hand and foot convulsions.  

3. Promotes defecation and improves hemorrhoids, bloody stool, hemorrhoids and varicose veins.  

4. Treats cold-dampness waist and leg pain.  

5. Gynecological diseases such as uterine bleeding and amenorrhea.  

6. Improves anemia and osteoporosis.  

7. Lowers lipids and aids weight loss.  

8. The leaves are rich in a kind of mucilage, which has a good anti-cancer and cancer-preventing effect.

Perhaps not many people have eaten Ceylon spinach, but its market space is still quite large, and there are also many people who grow Ceylon spinach. In the process of growing Ceylon spinach, the prevention and treatment of its diseases are very important. Only by reducing the damage of pests and diseases can its yield be effectively increased.