The Latest Methods for Controlling Cucumber Gray Mold

Cucumber is one of the common vegetables in daily life and is grown nationwide, but during cultivation it often suffers infection from pests and diseases, and gray mold is one of the common diseases. If not controlled in time, it often causes cucumber fruits to become infected and rot. So how should cucumber gray mold be controlled? Let's take a look together.

1. Disease Symptoms

Gray mold mainly infects the cucumber fruit, and sometimes also infects the leaves. When it occurs on the fruit, the typical symptom is that infection and rotting start from the residual flower, with a gray-black mold layer on the surface. On affected leaves, infection starts from the edge, producing V-shaped lesions. To correctly identify gray mold, you can look at three aspects: first, there are brown lesions; second, the lesions are V-shaped; third, there is a gray mold layer on the surface of the lesions, among which the gray mold layer is the main difference between it and other diseases.

2. Causes of the Disease

Gray mold is typical of low temperature and high humidity. When the temperature is too low, especially when the nighttime temperature is below 15°C, its root system is hindered and its absorption capacity declines. If the temperature stays below 12°C for 3 consecutive days, the root hairs will fall off, leading to poor nutrition in the aboveground parts and yellowing of the leaf edges. At this time, the pathogen takes the opportunity to invade and trigger disease occurrence, and the fruit may also show fruit abortion. In addition, excessive watering or an improper watering method, causing waterlogging in the field or relatively high humidity, will also create favorable conditions for gray mold. In addition, excessive planting density and a closed canopy in the field, leading to poor field ventilation and light penetration, can also cause this disease.

3. Preventive Measures

Try to raise the temperature as much as possible and keep the nighttime temperature above 15°C; only in this way can the seedlings safely pass through cold nights and avoid infection by gray mold. At the same time, increase light penetration to reduce the probability of gray mold occurrence. When watering, pay attention to the amount of water; a single watering should not be too much. Drip irrigation or micro-sprinkler irrigation can be used to effectively control watering, or high-ridge cultivation can be adopted, which can not only effectively raise the soil temperature but also reduce the humidity around the root system. During cultivation, control the planting density well, and properly prune branches and leaves to increase ventilation and light penetration and reduce the probability of disease occurrence.

4. Treatment Methods

The principles for controlling gray mold are to promptly remove diseased plant residues, raise the temperature, and strengthen ventilation. When the disease occurs, medication can be used for treatment. After the disease occurs, immediately carry out comprehensive disinfection of the seedlings, and chlorobromoisocyanuric acid can be used for spray treatment. On the second day after spraying the pesticide, a follow-up control treatment must be carried out with a highly systemic pesticide. Pyrimethanil suspension concentrate and boscalid can be selected, with relatively good results.

The above is an introduction to the control methods for cucumber gray mold. We hope it can help you. If you want to learn more related knowledge, please stay tuned to us.