The Latest Control Methods for Pepper Anthracnose

Peppers suffer from different diseases at different stages. Here I will mainly give you a brief introduction to pepper anthracnose. This disease mainly infects mature peppers or those nearing maturity after color change. After all the hard work of growing them, they get attacked just as they are about to mature and be harvested. Absolutely do not let this happen. Let's see how to deal with it and eliminate the pathogen.

I. Symptoms of Infection

Infection of mature fruit often occurs as a complication after sunscald. Circular lesions with concentric rings first appear, and red granular bodies form on the lesions, gradually turning black. The lesions gradually become sunken. In cloudy and humid weather, red sticky matter appears, which turns into a thin grayish layer after drying. Occasionally old leaves are also infected, showing circular brown lesions with small black dots, eventually leading to leaf drop. Brown irregular lesions appear on stems and stalks, which dry out and crack, and may also be a sign of infection.

II. Occurrence and Spread

The pathogen overwinters as conidia on the seed coat, or mycelium enters the interior of the seed to overwinter. In spring, seeds can directly carry the pathogen and spread it, becoming infected as soon as they emerge. At the same time, conidia can also spread through wind and rain, irrigation and water sources, continuously reproducing and spreading. The pathogen also grows well at high temperatures. Air humidity above 70%, excessive nitrogen fertilizer application, and prolonged strong sunlight all easily induce the disease. The pathogen generally enters through wounds, young tender parts, and natural openings.

III. Treatment Measures

1. Seed Selection and Seed Soaking

When saving seeds, pay attention to testing for disease. Peppers should be picked from plants with no disease occurrence to obtain seeds. The pepper varieties used for seed collection should have strong disease resistance and good adaptability, especially high-quality disease-resistant varieties developed through special treatment. Before sowing, the saved seeds should all be soaked for 1 hour in a 500-fold dilution of 50% carbendazim wettable powder. If disease occurs during the later fruiting stage, a 50% mancozeb wettable powder spray or a 75% chlorothalonil wettable powder solution can be used for treatment, at an interval of two days, for two to three applications.

2. Management and Garden Cleanup

When planting, a suitable row spacing should be set, with proper density, good ventilation and light penetration, suitable temperature, and no crowding. Both base fertilizer and top dressing should be applied at the right time and in sufficient amounts to maintain healthy growth vigor and enhance disease resistance. Keep the field soil surface dry while the interior remains moist, so the pathogen will not infect. Fruit can be harvested a bit earlier; in any case, it can rely on physiological after-ripening, so there is no possibility of disease, and it is also convenient for storage. After the pepper harvest is completely finished, the plants can be pulled up, and the diseased residues collected and burned in a centralized manner to eliminate the pathogen and avoid overwintering damage.

There are many triggers for anthracnose. In fact, to do a good job of prevention, you should first focus on eliminating the potential triggers. Afterward, if disease still occurs, some chemical agents should be used to control it. The best approach is still to harvest early; with early harvesting, there is no possibility of damage.