How to prevent and control pomegranate fruit rot? A detailed explanation of the latest prevention and control methods
Fruit rot is a common disease of pomegranate, with an incidence rate of 20%-30%. It can seriously affect the yield and quality of pomegranates and also bring relatively large losses to growers. So what symptoms appear when fruit rot occurs? How should it be prevented and controlled? Let's take a look.
1. Symptoms
Fruit rot caused by brown rot fungus infection mostly occurs when pomegranates are nearing maturity. In the early stage of the disease, light brown water-soaked spots appear on the fruit peel and expand rapidly. A grayish-brown mold layer appears on the diseased part, and the internal seeds rot along with it. Diseased fruits often shrink into dark brown to black mummified fruits hanging on the trunk, and the branches of diseased plants develop canker spots. Fermented fruit caused by yeast also appears during the fruit ripening stage and can further develop during storage and transportation. In the early stage, diseased fruit shows no obvious symptoms, with only a slight reddish color on part of the peel. When the reddish area is peeled open, the fruit pulp can be seen turning red, the seeds begin to decay, and later the entire interior of the fruit rots and becomes filled with reddish-brown, wine-scented juice. Fruit rot caused by fruit cracking is often seen as rot at the cracked opening, forming molds of various colors.
2. Disease development pattern
Fruit rot caused by brown rot mainly overwinters as mycelium or conidia remaining on diseased leaves, residual fruits, and branches. In April-May of the following year, the pathogen spreads through airflow, wind, and rain, thereby invading through stomata and wounds. In addition, insect pests, fruit cracking, and high-temperature and high-humidity environments can also aggravate the occurrence of the disease.
3. Prevention and control methods
In winter, clean the orchard, scrape off old bark on the trunk, remove dead branches, fallen leaves, and diseased fruits in the pomegranate orchard, and burn them in a centralized manner to reduce the pathogen. Before overwintering, spray lime sulfur mixture once on the tree body, the orchard site, and plants around the orchard. When the disease is severe, 0.3% sodium pentachlorophenate can be added to improve the efficacy. In the rainy season, mancozeb, captafol, and thiram can be used to spray the tree body and plants around the orchard. Guokangbao, neomycin, wuyimycin, and antibiotic S-921 can also be sprayed for prevention and control, with good results.
The above is an introduction to the prevention and control methods for pomegranate fruit rot. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.