A Detailed Guide to the Latest Control Methods for Eggplant Fusarium Wilt
Eggplant fusarium wilt is one of the major diseases of eggplant. It not only harms solanaceous vegetables but also harms many other vegetables such as cucurbits and crucifers. The leaves of diseased plants gradually turn yellow and wilt from the bottom upward, and the symptoms mostly appear on the first and second branches; sometimes only half of a single leaf turns yellow while the other half remains perfectly healthy. Let us take a look below at the control methods for eggplant fusarium wilt!
Symptoms
Eggplant verticillium wilt rarely occurs at the seedling stage; it generally begins shortly after eggplant is transplanted. If transplanting takes place under low temperatures, the disease occurs early and severely, but it most often occurs after fruit set. Diseased plants mostly develop from the bottom upward or from one side to the whole plant. The leaves first turn yellow at the leaf margins and between the veins, then develop until half a leaf or the entire leaf turns yellow. In the early stage, diseased leaves appear wilted on sunny days at high temperatures and can still recover in the morning and evening. In the later stage, diseased leaves turn from yellow to brown and eventually wilt, droop, and fall off. In severe cases, all the leaves of the whole plant turn brown, wilt, and droop until they drop completely, leaving only the stem. When the diseased roots, stem branches, and leaf stalks are split open, the vascular bundles can be seen to have turned brown, but there is no milky, cloudy liquid oozing out. When a mature fruit from a severely diseased plant is cut lengthwise, the vascular bundles can also be seen to have turned dark brown.
Conditions for Disease Onset
The pathogen prefers warm, humid environments. The most suitable conditions for disease onset are a soil temperature of 24-28°C and a soil moisture content of 20-30%. In Zhejiang and the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, the main peak periods for eggplant fusarium wilt are from May to July and from September to October. The susceptible growth period of eggplant is the flowering and fruit-setting stage. Fields with many years of continuous cropping, poor drainage, waterlogging after rain, acidic soil, severe damage from underground pests, and excessive application of nitrogen fertilizer in cultivation tend to have more severe disease. In years with abundant rain in spring and summer, the disease is severe; in years with abundant rain in autumn, autumn-cultivated eggplant has severe disease.
Control Methods
1. Disinfect seeds and seedbeds. Before sowing, soak seeds in warm water at 55°C for 15 minutes and disinfect the seedbed soil. Actively control underground pests to avoid wounds on the root system.
2. Carry out crop rotation with non-solanaceous vegetables for more than 3 years. Use red eggplant, Torubamu, and others as rootstocks for grafted seedling production. Transplant at the proper time and with care, control watering appropriately, and strengthen intertillage to promote healing of root wounds.
3. In the early stage of disease onset, drench the roots with 50% carbendazim wettable powder at 500 times dilution, or 50% benomyl wettable powder at 1000 times dilution, or 20% tolclofos-methyl emulsifiable concentrate at 1000 times dilution, or 5% ningnanmycin aqueous solution at 400 times dilution, or 15% hymexazol aqueous solution at 1000 times dilution, using 200 ml per plant.