Common Pests and Diseases During Summer Eggplant Growth, Their Control Methods and Recommended Pesticides

Eggplant, also known as diaocaizi, purple eggplant, dwarf melon and so on, is a relatively common vegetable in China, and it is now cultivated in most regions. During the eggplant growth period, various pests and diseases inevitably appear, so to grow it well, pest and disease control work must be done properly. So what are the common pests and diseases during eggplant growth? What are the control methods? What pesticides can cure them?

I. What are the common diseases during eggplant growth?

1. What symptoms appear when eggplant suffers from damping-off? How to control it?

Damping-off is the most common disease during the eggplant seedling stage. It is mostly caused by mold infection and generally overwinters in the soil. When conditions are suitable, oospores develop and then spread to other plants through rain, wind and other means, causing the eggplant stems to discolor and wither until they shrink and die.

Control methods:

(1) Strengthen orchard management techniques: when planting, choose seedlings with good quality and strong disease resistance, and before planting, deeply plow and disinfect the soil to prevent bacteria from breeding.

(2) Seedbed selection: choose plots with good drainage, good ventilation and full sun exposure to improve the plants' disease resistance.

(3) Chemical control: for diseased plants that have already been affected, sprays such as 72.2% Previcur AS or chlorothalonil wettable powder can be used.

2. What symptoms appear when eggplant suffers from leaf mold? How to control it?

Leaf mold is a common disease during eggplant growth. It is mostly caused by fungal infection and generally attaches to the seed surface and penetrates into the seed interior, damaging eggplant leaves, stems and so on, causing various spots to appear on the leaves until mold layers or patches form, causing the plant to wither and die. Some also parasitize the ground and overwinter safely there; when the temperature is suitable the next year, they then develop spores and spread to other plants with rain or other pathogens, causing large-scale infection and triggering disease.

Control methods

(1) Strengthen orchard management techniques: when planting, control the density properly to prevent rising soil temperature from breeding bacteria.

(2) Seedbed selection: when choosing a site, try to choose plots with good drainage and ventilation to improve the plants' disease resistance.

(3) Clear weeds and stray branches: after harvest, promptly remove all stray branches, diseased branches, weeds and so on from the orchard to one place and burn or deeply bury them in a concentrated way to prevent disease infection.

(4) Chemical control: for plants that have already developed the disease, sprays such as 47% Kasumin wettable powder or 60% Fangmeibao No. 2 water-soluble powder can be used to prevent bacteria from spreading and harming other plants.

3. What symptoms appear when eggplant suffers from Fusarium wilt? How to control it?

Fusarium wilt is the most common disease after eggplant is transplanted. It is mostly caused by bacterial or fungal infection and generally occurs in humid and warm environments, especially during rainy seasons or in acidic soil, causing leaves to wither and turn yellow until the whole plant dies.

Control methods

(1) Take preventive measures in advance: eggplant Fusarium wilt mostly begins to develop from May to July or from September to October, so before that, appropriately check the health of plants in the orchard and remove dead grass, dead branches, weeds and so on from the orchard in a concentrated way.

(2) Disinfect the seedbed and seeds: before sowing, soak the seeds in 55°C warm water for 15 minutes, and deeply loosen the seedbed soil for thorough disinfection to prevent root infection and harm to the plants.

(3) Avoid continuous cropping: when planting eggplant, avoid continuous cropping with non-solanaceous vegetables for more than 3 years, and water and cultivate the soil appropriately to reduce bacterial infection.

(4) Chemical control: for plants that have already been affected, sprays such as 50% benomyl wettable powder or 15% hymexazol AS can be applied to the leaves to reduce the occurrence of the disease.

4. What symptoms appear when eggplant suffers from Phytophthora fruit rot? How to control it?

Phytophthora fruit rot is a common disease during the eggplant fruiting stage. It is also called rotten eggplant and is mostly caused by fungal infection. It generally occurs more severely during the plum rain season, can rot the fruit and affects yield.

Control methods:

(1) Strengthen orchard management techniques: choose land with good drainage and good ventilation to prevent viruses from breeding during the plum rain season.

(2) Disinfect the soil: before planting seeds, disinfect the soil or seeds to prevent bacterial infection from harming the plants.

(3) Avoid continuous cropping: for plots where the disease has already occurred, it is prohibited to rotate with non-solanaceous vegetables for more than three years, and fertilize and water reasonably to promote strong plant growth, combining chemical treatment when the disease occurs.

5. What symptoms appear when eggplant suffers from Sclerotinia rot? How to control it?

Sclerotinia rot is one of the most common diseases during the eggplant seedling stage and adult plant stage. It is mostly caused by fungal infection and generally can cause the plant's stems and leaves to die until the whole plant dies, affecting yield.

Control methods:

(1) Sterilize and disinfect the soil: Sclerotinia rot is mostly caused by soil fungal infection, so before planting, be sure to disinfect the soil with carbendazim wettable powder to prevent bacteria from parasitizing and growing and infecting other plants.

(2) Strengthen orchard management techniques: when planting, be sure to control the density properly to prevent rising soil temperature from breeding bacteria. At the same time, before the peak period of disease occurrence, frequently inspect the orchard and destroy residual branches, diseased branches and so on in a concentrated way to cut off fungal infection.

II. What are the common insect pests during eggplant growth?

1. What symptoms appear when eggplant is affected by aphids? How to control them?

Aphids are a common insect pest during eggplant growth, generally occurring in all planting areas. They mainly feed on eggplant stems, leaves and so on, and in severe cases can eat all the stems and leaves of the whole plant, causing the plant to die.

Control methods:

(1) Manual control: before winter, remove dead branches, diseased branches and so on from the orchard in a concentrated way and burn them to prevent pest occurrence the next year.

(2) Chemical control: if aphids are found, specialized pesticides such as malathion emulsion or pirimicarb wettable powder can be sprayed directly for treatment.

(3) Protect natural enemies: aphids also have natural enemies, generally including parasitic wasps, hoverflies and so on, so several kinds of natural enemies can be appropriately reared to prevent pest occurrence.

2. What symptoms appear when eggplant is affected by red spider mites? How to control them?

Red spider mites are a common insect pest during eggplant growth, generally occurring in all planting areas. They mainly feed on the sap of eggplant leaves, causing the entire leaf to wither and die.

Control methods:

(1) Clean the orchard: after eggplant harvest, promptly remove stray branches, dead branches, diseased branches, diseased leaves and so on from the orchard in a concentrated way and burn or deeply bury them to prevent larvae from parasitizing in tree crevices to overwinter and harm the fruit the next year.

(2) Chemical control: if insect pests are found, promptly spray with insecticides to kill them.