Introduction to the Latest Control Methods for Eggplant Verticillium Wilt

Eggplant, also known as half-side madness, black heart disease, and wilt disease, is an important disease harming eggplant. It is generally infected at the seedling stage, and symptoms mostly appear only after fruit set. It is extremely harmful to fruit growth and seriously affects yield. So how should eggplant Verticillium wilt be controlled? Let's learn about it together.

1. Disease Symptoms

Diseased plants die early, bear few and small fruits, and yield reduction is relatively severe. This disease generally appears after flowering and fruiting. It first affects leaves from the bottom upward or from one side, then spreads to the whole plant, which is why it is called half-side madness. At first, the leaf margins and areas between the veins turn yellow, then develop into half a leaf or the entire leaf turning yellow, while also wilting, drooping, and even falling off. In severe cases, all leaves on the whole plant fall off, leaving bare stems. This disease is a whole-plant disease. When diseased plants are cut open at the roots, stems, branches, and petioles, the vascular bundles can be seen turning brown, so it is also called black heart disease.

2. Disease Pattern

Eggplant Verticillium wilt is caused by infection by fungi of the genus Verticillium dahliae. In addition to eggplant, it can also infect sweet pepper, tomato, potato, melons and vegetables, and many other crops, but eggplant suffers the most severe damage. The pathogen overwinters in the soil with diseased residues. Seeds can also carry the pathogen for long-distance spread, and organic fertilizer containing diseased residues can also spread the disease. The pathogen has strong resistance to adverse environments and can survive in the soil for 6-8 years, so continuous cropping leads to more severe disease.

3. Control Methods

Use reasonable crop rotation, rotating with non-solanaceous crops for more than 6 years, select varieties with strong disease resistance, and before sowing and raising seedlings, disinfect and sterilize the planting site to reduce the chance of disease. The seedling-raising site should also be disinfected. Organic fertilizer applied should be fully decomposed. When planting, apply 1-2 grams of 50% carbendazim wettable powder per hole, then water the seedlings, using the fungicidal effect of the pesticide to prevent soil pathogens around the roots and infection. For diseased plants found, carbendazim or thiophanate-methyl can be used as a root drench for control, once every 10 days, 2-3 times in succession, with good results.

The above is an introduction to control methods for eggplant Verticillium wilt. We hope it can help you. To learn more related knowledge, please keep following us.