Common Diseases and Pests of Water Chestnut and the Latest Control Methods
Water chestnut (Trapa natans) belongs to the genus Trapa in the family Trapaceae, and is also known as water caltrop. It is an annual fruit; the fruit is crisp and delicious and can be used to make congee. Water chestnut contains relatively rich protein, trace elements and various nutrients, and has effects such as quenching thirst and detoxifying. It is currently a relatively popular planting project. Many people are also planting it on a large scale, but during the planting process they will find that water chestnut often suffers from many diseases and pests, and they do not know how to control them. So the editor has brought you the common diseases and pests of water chestnut and their control methods.
1. Water chestnut southern blight
Disease characteristics: Water chestnut southern blight is a fungal disease, and the main pathogen is Sclerotium rolfsii. It generally occurs at high frequency in hot, humid environments in summer and autumn. Polluted water quality makes disease occurrence more likely. It mainly affects the leaves of water chestnut. At first, a small number of yellow disease spots appear in the middle of the leaves, and later they gradually expand and extend, causing the entire affected leaf to turn yellow and rot, and then begin to spread to surrounding leaves. This causes the rot of the entire water chestnut mat. When the disease is severe, it can cause large-scale rot of water chestnut mats within 3 days, resulting in total loss of yield.
Control methods: When planting water chestnut, pay attention to planting density to prevent the water chestnut mats from having too little growing space in summer and autumn. Keep the water quality clean and hygienic to prevent pollution. Diseased water chestnut mats or leaves should be removed promptly and destroyed in a centralized manner. Use agents such as thiophanate-methyl to spray and control the remaining water chestnut mats in the field.
2. Water chestnut brown spot disease
Disease characteristics: Brown spot disease is also a fungal disease. It occurs in various parts of our country, and also commonly occurs in summer and autumn. It causes premature defoliation of water chestnut leaves, leading to reduced yield and lower quality. In the early stage of infection, some inconspicuous light brown disease spots appear on the edges of the leaves, and then gradually extend and expand into irregular dark brown disease spots. When the environment is relatively moist and humid, small black mold spots appear.
Control methods: When planting water chestnut, pay attention to planting density to prevent the water chestnut mats from having too little growing space in summer and autumn. Keep the water quality clean and hygienic to prevent pollution. The main control methods are almost the same as those for southern blight. The main points are to pay attention to the field water quality and hygiene conditions, and to fully disinfect the field over winter to reduce overwintering pathogens.
3. Water chestnut leaf beetle
Disease characteristics: The water chestnut leaf beetle can cause devastating disasters to water chestnut, and it generally occurs in early summer. The leaf beetle reproduces extremely quickly. At its fastest, it can complete one generation in two days. The period of transition between summer and autumn is a high-incidence period. Both adults and larvae of the leaf beetle gnaw on the leaf mesophyll of water chestnut, and within a few hours they can eat an entire water chestnut mat completely.
Control methods: The only way to control the leaf beetle is to spray pesticides for appropriate control. Generally, pesticides such as monosultap or bisultap can be sprayed to kill them.
The above three are a brief introduction to the diseases and pests that often occur when planting water chestnut. When planting, everyone must pay attention to the living environment of water chestnut. Because water chestnut lives in water, you must pay attention to the quality of the water. Do not use polluted water to grow water chestnut, and everyone should pay special attention to the leaf beetle pest. If this pest is not controlled in time, it can even cause you to lose the entire harvest. This article is for reference only. I hope it is helpful to everyone.