Causes, Occurrence Patterns and Control Methods of Pepper Soft Rot

Peppers are grown very widely in China. During the process of growing peppers, you may find that the peppers become rotten and deformed, which seriously affects the growth of the peppers and reduces the yield. This is mainly caused by pepper soft rot, so what is the cause of pepper soft rot? What are its occurrence patterns? Control methods included!

I. Causes of Pepper Soft Rot

Pepper soft rot is prone to becoming epidemic in low-lying fields, where planting density is too high, where there are many boring pests, or where there is a lot of continuous rainy weather and high humidity. The pathogen overwinters in the soil with diseased plant debris and becomes the primary infection source for the following year. In the field, the pathogen enters through wounds via irrigation water or rainwater splashing. After infection, the pathogen can also spread through cotton bollworm and wind and rain, causing the disease to spread through the field.

II. Occurrence Patterns of Pepper Soft Rot

Pepper soft rot is a bacterial disease. The pathogen overwinters in the soil with diseased plant debris and spreads through the field with rainwater and irrigation water, becoming the primary infection source for the following year's field outbreak. The pathogen continues to spread through fruit-boring pests and enters through fruit wounds, leading to an epidemic. The disease is more severe in plots under extensive management and in low-lying, damp areas, and continuous rainy weather will aggravate the occurrence of soft rot.

III. Symptoms of Pepper Soft Rot

Pepper soft rot mainly damages the fruit and mostly occurs on green fruit. After the fruit is infected, water-soaked dark green spots initially appear, then rapidly expand, and the lesions turn light brown. The flesh rots and gives off a foul odor, and the fruit becomes deformed. Most diseased fruits drop off, while a few remain on the branches; after losing water, only the grayish-white fruit skin is left hanging on the plant.

IV. Control Methods for Pepper Soft Rot

1. Reasonable crop rotation

Carry out crop rotation for more than 3 years with non-solanaceous and non-cruciferous vegetables, cultivate strong seedlings, transplant at the proper time, plant at a reasonable density, ensure ventilation, use plastic film mulching, promptly drain field water after rain, reduce air humidity, and promptly remove diseased fruits, take them out of the field and bury them deeply to reduce sources of reinfection in the field.

2. Pest control treatment

Choose any one of the following for spraying: 2.5% kungfu emulsifiable concentrate 5000x dilution, 4.5% beta-cypermethrin 3000-3500x dilution, 2.5% deltamethrin 2000x dilution, 20% fenvalerate 2000x dilution, etc.

3. Disease control treatment

At the initial onset of the disease and after rain, choose either 50% DT fungicide 500x dilution or 72% agricultural streptomycin soluble powder 4000x dilution for spraying.

The above is the introduction by Tuliu.com on the causes and control methods of pepper soft rot. Planting management should be done well. When fertilizing, pay attention to controlling the application of nitrogen fertilizer; it must not be excessive, which would cause peppers to grow excessively, reduce air permeability, and cause pepper leaf drop.